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Three of them wore grim and unwelcoming expressions, their shoulders held rigid as Khalani and the others took their seats. The man directly across from her looked younger and had a black bandanna covering the lower half of his face—the only person wearing one—while his brown eyes landed directly on her. She couldn’t help but stiffen under his disarming gaze.

Keno entered the door, rolling his white sleeves to his elbows and sitting down at the end of the table. His expression was displeased as his gaze flittered to the four men, lingering on the masked individual across from her.

Spade sat at the opposite end of the table, folding his hands. “Now that we’re all here, we can begin.”

Begin what?

“We can first start with what the hell you were thinking by bringing foreigners into our city, Spade? And into the Black Heart, no less,” one of the men with thick arms and an oversizedbelly that touched the wooden table spat.

“Mind your tongue. I’m no foreigner,” Brock hissed, leaning forward like he was about to slice the man open with a butter knife.

“Yes, you are, Death-Zoner. You were a part of our group, but you haven’t been seen or heard from in months. How do we know you haven’t divulged our secrets to Apollo, and you aren’t here to steal everything out from under our feet?!” the man roared, while a couple others nodded in agreement.

The masked man remained silent, lounging back in his seat, like he wasbored.

Brock tensed, moving to stand, but Spade placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

“That’s enough, Zenith,” Spade snapped at the old man. “Brock was captured in Apollo, and his loyalty to us remains true. He holds my full trust. A word against him is a word against me. Do you still have a problem?”

Zenith swallowed at the unspoken threat.

Even though his eyes burned with unsheathed hostility, his protests ended.

“Good,” Spade continued. “Now we can finally get to the reason why we’re here. First, we need to understand what’s happening in Apollo. You mentioned crop failure and the Apollo government killing your people. Tell us everything.”

Adan was the one to lean forward and share what Derek had told them about his findings while working in the Research and Resource labs in Apollo. He spoke of the virus discovered in the crops, which was slowly destroying the entire food supply, the negligence of their leaders, and the mass murder of Apollo’s citizens.

When he reached the part about their escape from prison and the Governor’s inhuman revelations, an oppressive silence fell over their group.

But the men across the table erupted in disbelief and outrage.

“What do you mean he was a robot?”

“That’s impossible,” another shouted

“Are you hearing this, Spade?” The third man threw up his hands. “I’ve never heard such an elaborate lie in my life.”

The three men shouted obscenities while the masked man, Keno, and Spade remained conspicuously quiet. The cacophony of voices turned into a dull roar in her head. A faint, high-pitched ring became audible.

Khalani shifted in her chair.

The fluorescent lights appeared too bright. The clothes on her back aggravated her skin. Her breaths shortened as a pair of pale blue eyes appeared in front of her.

“Are you sure you’re asking the right questions?”

“Stop!”

Everyone turned to her in shock as she slammed her palms on the table. Even the masked man in front of her looked up in interest.

“You don’t have to believe us,” she said. “I might not have believed it myself if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. But what Adan said is true. Both our cities have been lying to us about the radiation. Who knows what other secrets they’re hiding—”

“Radiation?” the masked man straightened in his chair, talking for the first time. “Explain.”

“That’s why I was imprisoned,” Brock interjected, glaring at Zenith before continuing. “On my way back to Apollo, I was attacked by people on the surface who weren’t wearing radiation suits. They didn’t look sick at all. When I reported what I saw to the Governor, I was thrown into prison. We traveled to Hermes without protection because the surface is no longer contaminated with radiation. Another government lie.”

Zenith’s jaw was on the floor at this point. The masked man tapped his finger on the table, looking deep in thought.

“It’s true,” Spade chimed in. “When I met them at the Gateway Arch, they weren’t wearing radiation equipment.”