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I burst into Juno’s room, interrupting a tense conversation between her and Vince. “Roll up your sleeve. Now.” I toss my backpack on the bed and pull out my supplies. “I’m going to need one hell of an explanation. If this was some magic trick, then you sure as hell missed your calling as a magician.”

Juno has the nerve to scoff. “Georgia, I’m fine. Really?—”

“I need blood samples from you and Valen. Where is he?” I check my vials and dig around for my gloves.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Valen’s cool voice wafts through the air and runs down my spine like ice water. Spinning, I find him sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace.

“Like hell it isn’t.” I pull out a butterfly for Juno and a regular gauge needle for Valen. “Take off your jacket. Whichever arm you prefer.” I yank on my glove so hard I tear it and have to grab another.

“You can’t take our blood,” Juno says.

“I can, and I will, even if Vince has to hold you down.” I finish with my gloves and turn to her. “Sit. I’ll be quick.”

“No.” Juno sighs. “Gentlemen, we need the room.”

A swift knock comes at the door, then Fatima peeks her head in. “President Gray is on the phone?—”

“Tell him I’ll call him tomorrow.”

Fatima clears her throat. “And President Huang, Prime Minster Cambridge, and at least three others.”

“Tomorrow,” Juno says, brooking no argument.

“Yes, ma’am.” Fatima bows out.

Juno clasps her hands in front of her. “Vince, Mr. Dragonis, if you don’t mind, I need a word with my sister.”

Vince moves toward the door, but Valen stays seated. Vince notices and stops. “You heard her.”

“I did.” He doesn’t even look at Vince.

“Then—”

“I’m certain you understand the ramifications of what the governor just revealed to the world. I cannot allow anyone to take her blood for any reason.” His gaze meets mine.

I feel like the floor is sliding out from under me, like what was once solid is now the consistency of pudding. “Is this some sort of collective insanity? What the hell are you talking about? I need to check her blood and yours. You could’ve given her?—”

“I assure you I gave her nothing other than what she bargained for.” His lofty tone raises my hackles.

“You assure me, do you? Well, I can assure you that if you don’t butt the hell out of my?—”

“Georgia!” Juno steps forward, putting herself between Valen and me, though I don’t miss the hint of a smirk on his lips before she blocks my view. “Valen is right. We can’t give you our blood.”

My heart seems to do a double thump, my breath stolen away for a moment. “ What ? Why not?”

“Think of it like a trade secret.”

She could’ve backhanded me, and I’d be less surprised. “Do you have any idea how insane you sound right now? I’m not leaving here until I have?—”

“For now.” She speaks over me. “Just for now, Georgia. Once the election is over, you’ll have access to so much more. I swear to you. You’ll be the first one to take a crack at the cure from this new species of blood. But not now.”

“I don’t understand.” I shake my head. “Your life isn’t a fucking trade secret . You could be infected right now. I need to know exactly what happened up on that stage.”

“What you saw is what happened. I cut myself. Valen’s blood healed the wound.”

“How?”

“That’s what half a dozen heads of state and counting want to know. And they will know after I’m in the White House.” She has the nerve to look triumphant.

I step back from her. “If what I saw was real, then?—”

“It was, Georgia. I wouldn’t lie to you?—”

“ If it was—” Now I’m speaking over her. “Then this could save lives just like you said, but you’re holding it hostage until you win your election?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

“In point of fact, I’m the one holding it hostage.” Valen stands and casually buttons his suit coat, his long pale fingers making quick work of it. “We won’t provide anything until the governor has earned her seat in Washington.”

I sidestep Juno and glare up at him. “So, I’m supposed to just take on faith you’re some magical unicorn with healing blood?”

He simply stares back at me, face impassive, though I could swear derision or amusement shimmers in his eyes. I fist my hands, my face flushing.

Juno turns and looks at him over her shoulder. “She won’t take any blood. You have my word.”

Valen strides to the door. “Keep to your word, Governor. You know the consequences if you don’t.”

Vince bristles and follows him into the hallway.

“Did he just threaten you?” I dart past Juno and run to the door.

“Stop!” Juno grabs my shoulder and yanks me back. “Georgia!” She spins me to her, and for the first time in a long time, I see fear in her eyes. “You can’t do anything to him. You can’t stop this. I’ve asked you to trust me. I need you to trust me, for all our sakes.”

“Trust what?” I yell. “You haven’t told me anything! I can’t keep believing you when you shut me out. What the fuck is going on? Tell me the truth!”

She grips my wrist hard, her fingers digging in. “You cannot go after Valen or any of them, you understand me? They are dangerous, Georgia. All right? They’ll hurt you. Promise me you won’t.”

I’m dumbstruck by the way she’s looking at me, by the tremor in her voice. That’s when I realize she’s terrified of Valen, of the people she just warmly praised in her press conference.

“I mean it!” She tries for stern but comes off more unhinged than anything else. I’ve never seen her like this, rattled so badly her self-control is gone. “Promise me!”

“Jesus, Juno. What is this? What’s happening?” I take her hands in mine. “Who are they?”

“You wouldn’t believe me.” She takes a deep breath.

“Try me.”

“To us, they’re …” She squeezes my hands as if worried I’ll bolt. “They’re a different species. Like you know how other types of humans died out forever ago so that our species remained? Their line didn’t. They’re superhuman.”

My mouth drops open. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I try to yank free from her grip, anger growing right along with my worry. “After all this, and you still lie to me?”

“It’s not a lie!” She pulls me away from the door with a rough yank. “I’m serious.”

A harsh laugh croaks from my throat. “Bullshit. There’s no way a completely separate line of humans has been existing right along with Homo Sapiens . We would know. It’s simply not possible. Unless you’re going to tell me they’ve established an Atlantis at the bottom of the ocean somewhere? Is that what you’re going to tell me next? Or maybe they live in space? Like the Little Prince on their own planet?”

“Georgia.” Her face goes stern. “How else do you explain this?” She holds out her arm. “You saw it yourself!”

“I saw something. What I didn’t see was the Missing Link! Or Sasquatch. Or vampires or werewolves or a fucking mermaid! My god, Juno, does Vince know about this shit?”

“That they’re superhuman?”

“That you think they’re superhuman, yes.”

“He knows. He’s seen.” Her face pales. “He’s seen it firsthand.”

“Seen what?”

“What they’re capable of.” She swallows hard. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe me, Georgia. I don’t care. I really don’t. But what I do care about is you. So promise me right fucking now that you won’t do anything to antagonize them.”

“Like what? Ask if they can fly? Ask them to contact the mother ship? Or if they can leap tall buildings in a?—”

“Georgia!” Her sharp yell makes me jump. “This isn’t a joke! These people—these, these things —they aren’t human. They’ve stood by and watched us die out again and again and done nothing. This time is different. No more hiding. They are real, they are here, and they have offered to help.”

“If they’re just ‘things’ who clearly terrify you, then what are you doing working with them?” I shoot back.

“Because they can save us. You can save us!” She pulls me down to the bed, her eyes boring into mine. “Their blood is real, what it can do is real. You will have access to it, and you will find a cure.”

“Why?”

“What?” She blinks.

“Why now? Why you? You said they’ve sat back and watched us struggle, so why are they acting now?”

She looks away. “Like I said, they see a way forward for their people and ours if I win the White House. If we work together.”

“President Gray wouldn’t work with them. Is that true?”

“Yes.” She glances away. “He’s refused their offer of help.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” She’s never had an obvious tell, not really. That’s why she makes an excellent politician. She could lie right to your face and you’d never know. But she’s my sister. She knows more than she’s saying. “President Gray is … Well, you’d have to ask him.”

“Juno, why ?” I glare at her. “You have to know why. You seem to be five steps ahead of everyone, including me. So why would President Gray turn this offer down when it would cement him the White House?”

“Like I said, you’d have to ask him. As for me , I want to change the world.” She meets my gaze again. “And I want to do it with you at my side. I know we can do it. I know it.” Her eyes light with fervor. “I believe in you. In us.”

I let my hands drop to my lap, my skin cold. “Juno, what have you promised them in return?”

She sighs, her body sagging a little. “Nothing that isn’t worth it. Curing the plague—that’s what matters.”

“That isn’t an answer.” I feel hollow, like someone scooped me out and left me in the sun to dry.

“I know it isn’t, but it’s all I can give you right now. I’m bound by my agreement with them. I have to …”

“Have to what?”

She rises, her steps heavy as she retreats to her closet and strips off her jacket. Her cream-colored shirt underneath has sweat marks at the armpits. For all her pretending to be unaffected, hopeful even, the stress is there. This isn’t Juno—she doesn’t back down, doesn’t let fear rule her. At least, that’s what I’d come to believe. Now … Now I’m not so sure.

“Georgia, the terms of all this are my burden to carry, not yours. All you have to do is sit tight until we’re in the White House. But you can’t take blood from me or Valen. You can’t do anything to jeopardize our relationship with them. In exchange, you’ll lead the team in DC that will work on finding a cure from their blood. That’s what I can give you right now.”

“I’m not someone for you to cut a deal with. I’m your sister .” I follow her and take her wrist, smoothing my palm down her arm again, looking for some evidence of the wound. “I just want to know you aren’t in over your head. I want to know you’re going to be okay.”

“ We are going to be okay as long as you trust me.”

I sigh. “I don’t believe in this superhuman crap.”

“Do you believe in me?” She pulls on her light pink robe and ties it perfunctorily at her waist.

I rub my temples. Nothing makes sense. This whole conversation seems like something I imagined or found in a fever-dream. But in my gut, I know Juno isn’t crazy. There is something special about Valen, something that doesn’t add up. A different species? I don’t know. “Do you?” she asks again, more softly, her eyes searching mine.

Even if it’s nuts, and even if I don’t know what any of this means, I know Juno. I know her better than anyone else in the entire world. “Yes, I believe in you.”

She shrugs, her eyes shining. “Then that has to be enough.”