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Giza peeked at me before shifting his weight, clearing his throat, and looking away. “The intel also revealed more information…” He hesitated, lips parted as if considering his next words carefully.

Unease pooled in my belly as I kept my sight on Giza and asked, “What? What is it?”

He looked away before clicking the remote he held in his hand. The image of my brother shifted, replaced by a series of names and dates. It was a list. A list of men and women with a date written right next to each one. The dates were all in the future. Some were only a few days away, and some were months from now. Eighth from the top was my brother, and next to his name the date read November 5.

“What’s that? Why are all those names up there? Why’s his name up there?” The questions tumbled out of me in quick succession.

Giza cleared his throat again, shifting his weight. “This…this is a list of inmates at the tower. If what we understand from the data you retrieved is correct, this is a list of execution dates.”

My jaw dropped, my eyes growing wide. “No…”

“I’m afraid so, child.” Sasha stood from her chair, her eyes set on me. “It seems Raúl has committed to murdering his own son in order to regain control of the Telvian people. And with us already being at the end of August, two months is hardly enough time to prepare for a rescue mission to the tower.”

“What?” I couldn’t believe what she was saying. There was no way. “You have to. Two months is plenty of time—”

“My dear, I understand you adore your brother, but Bellfire Tower has never been breached before. Until today, we didn’t even know its location. We have no knowledge of the terrain, defense systems, or any moles on the inside who could assist us. We are horribly underpowered and unprepared—”

I stood up this time, anger fueled by the fear threatening to take over. “Youpromised. Is this the kind of leader you’re going to be? One that plays games of bait and switch?”

“Careful, Mara,” Giza cautioned.

“No,yoube careful,” I spat back at him. “I’m tired of this bullshit!”

“Miss de la Puente!” Fisher snapped at me.

“Gentlemen,” Sasha cut in. “Please excuse me and Miss de la Puente. I believe there are a few things she and I must come into an agreement with.”

Everyone looked at one another, except for Wes. His face was a cool mask of hidden emotions as he sat with his arms crossed against his chest. His eyes continued to avoid me. Giza bowed his head briefly before giving me one of thoseyou better behavelooks. Fisher stood as well, tipping his head at Sasha, while Wes got up and walked out, never looking back at me or the President of the Free People.

And then we were alone.

My stomach twisted into a nasty knot, threatening to vomit bile from the empty pit. I already knew this wasn’t going to be good.

Sasha sat back down, her hair braided and wrapped on her head in a bun. She wore an elegant, tan colored dress suit with a white blouse. It was all simple, but the simplicity somehow made it beautiful on her. I, on the other hand, had little choice. My attire for the past six months since being kidnapped and joining the rebels had consisted of my cadet uniform—deep tan cargo pants, standard issued black boots, and olive-green t-shirt. Myclothing varied only during training or on missions. That’s when I wore the skintight black jumpsuit or full combat gear. But today, it was the t-shirt and cargo pants.

They weren’t flattering. Not even a little bit.

“Sit, child.” Her tone was curt and sharp, and it was clear she wasn’t suggesting I sit. It was an order. But I really didn’t care about what she wanted. I was too pissed off. She had been looking for excuses not to fulfill her end of the bargain since she made it with me months ago. I had been pushing back on her ever since, and she was growing tired of it. Sasha had a lot of patience, but I suspected the grace she had been giving me was running out.

I couldn’t blame her, though. In truth, Sasha had been good to me.Realgood. For the first time in my life, I was given the power of choice. I savored real food, discovered a vast new world I never thought existed, and even got my first real kiss. And when I exercised my own voice, explored my anger, tried on what it felt like to be defiant or say no, I didn’t have to fear being beaten for my insolence. I was finding that there were more parts to me than I realized. I wasn’t just a scared little girl anymore who was always hurt and lonely. There was more to me than that. I had anger and jealousy and hate and friendship and love andhope.

Yes, Sasha had been good to me. TheDissentershad been good to me. And they had done so much more than just save my life—theygaveme my life. Because what I was doing before, how I was living in Telvia…I knew now that wasn’t living.

But Sasha was another politician. And even though she had been good to me, I was struggling to trust her, to believe everything she told me was the truth. I had spent my entire life being controlled, blindly following orders, and accepting everything my father ever told me without question, and it cost me greatly. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. Icouldn’t afford to. Because this time, my brother’s life hung in the balance of it all.

So even though I truly respected her and everything she was trying to do for the people of Telvia, I remained standing. Not out of disrespect, but as a reminder that I wasn’t going to back down from this. I wasn’t going to give up on saving my brother. His life mattered, and he was worth fighting for.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and the gesture sent a cool tremor through me. “Very well. If you wish to remain standing, that is your choice.” She reached for the remote Giza had left on the table, clicked a few buttons, and the light in the room turned on while the projector clicked off. I blinked several times, my eyes trying to adjust to the bright light in the room. She took a deep breath, folding her hands on the table before setting her gaze on me. “Now, I understand wanting to save your brother, and I can understand your frustration with me, but you must be reasonable.”

I squared my shoulders. “Is it so unreasonable for me to expect someone to follow through on their promises?”

“I have been doing everything in my power—”

“No, you haven’t, Sasha,” I snapped. “You threw me on a farm with no information on what you were planning or trying to do. Then you summon me here and tell me that there’s no supporting information about my brother’s location, only a rumor. You give me some excuse about how we can’t risk breaking into Admin, and then you do everything you can to prevent me from going on that mission.” I lifted my hand, counting down each item. “I had to gather my own team, gather my own intel, secure my own transport, and everything else. You didnothing. And now, you’re looking for the first excuse you can find to try and bail out of saving him. So, forgive me if I’m having a hard time believing you and your perception ofdoingeverythingyou can.” I exhaled sharply, feeling my frustration rise, my anger bubbling over.

Sasha sat quietly, her tongue running over her teeth and then clucking in her mouth before she finally spoke. “I can see how my actions appear to you. I understand.” She cleared her throat softly.

“You can?”