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And only days ago, her fight with Jordan had left him full of regret, yet his accusations then had been nowhere near as damaging as those he had slung at her today.

As for D.C., there was no way she would ever make Alex doubt the strength of their friendship, the two of them having been through too much together.

If not for her own unshakable sense of guilt, Alex would have become aware of what was happening much sooner. She would have understood that it wasn’t her friends who she was facing, who were saying such painful things to her. She would have realised the truth: that none of this was real.

Because she had never left the Gate of Judgement.

She had no idea where her real friends were, whether they were watching or not. They had been with her for the memory and the vision, she was sure of that, but once they’d returned to the stadium, that was when the deception had begun—all so that Alex would call out that single word she so desperately wanted to use:stop.

But she wouldn’t. Because now that she knew what was happening, she could endure it.

Shehadto.

And so, when Declan stepped forward next, she hardened her heart in preparation for what he might say. But even knowing that it wasn’t really him, that it wasn’t reallyanyof her friends, it was impossible for her not to feel his words shredthrough her when he said, “You never should have come to our world. We would have all been better off if we’d never met you.”

Alex flinched, because in so many ways, he was right.

Despite the scene being little more than an act, she couldn’t stop the tears that kept flowing down her cheeks. And her pain only increased when Bear spoke again.

“You’re going to kill us all,” he told her in his still-devastated voice. “Just like my dad.”

The accusation was a physical blow to which Alex had no defence.

“You’re going to fail,” Jordan added heartlessly. “You know you are. That’s why you never shared the truth with us. Because when it happens, you didn’t want us to know it was all your fault to begin with.”

Another blow. Another stab of pain.

“Were you just going to leave us?” D.C. asked, swiping at her wet cheeks. “Were you just going to run back to Freya once you realised all was lost?”

Alex couldn’t keep from shaking her head. The real D.C. knew Alex would never do that. Sheknew.

“You were the only one of us not in the vision,” Bear pointed out hoarsely. “When are you planning on going, Alex? As soon as we get back to Medora? Or will you wait to see what other damage you can cause before abandoning us to our fate?”

She didn’t respond. Shecouldn’trespond.

It’s not real, she reminded herself.It’s not real it’s not real it’s not real.

But even knowing that, their words still slammed into her, still tore through her, leaving her ripped to pieces.

Kaiden moved then. He stepped forward until he was face to face with Alex.

Struggling to focus on him through her flooded eyes, she watched as he reached out and tilted her chin towards him, histouch agonisingly gentle. It would have been a comfort if not for the look on his face and the words he whispered next.

“We’re all going to die because of you.”

And with that, Alex was done. Her body was shaking, her heart was in tatters, but she refused to listen to this a moment longer.

Shoving Kaiden back, she stared down her fake friends and rasped, “I know this isn’t real. My friends—myrealfriends— would never blame me for something beyond my control. I might not have shared that I’m the reason why Aven hates mortals, but if I had, they would have understood. Just as they would have understood that I didn’t tell them about the future vision because I didn’t want them to suffer from the weight of it as I have.”

She turned towards Saefii and the audience, certain they were all a part of the ruse, but still aware that they were listening and watching from elsewhere.

“I’ve made mistakes,” Alex continued, her croaking voice growing stronger. “I’m the first to admit that. Judge me all you want, if that’s the point of this test. But know this: my friends would never condemn me like this. They would never blame me for Aven’s actions, and they would definitely never accuse me of hurting or killing anyone—least of allthem. Andthat’swhy I know all of this”—she waved a hand around her—“is fake.” Glaring up at the empress and her advisors, Alex finished, “You’ve had your fun, now let me the hell out of here.”

At her command, the scenery around her dissolved, until she was standing on the real dais of the stadium, her white-faced friends all staring at her with unmasked horror, enough for her to know they had seen and heard everything.

“Alex,” Jordan whispered.

She was unable to keep from flinching backwards. Unable to look at him, to look at any of them.