When the blue faded from my vision, I realized that my feet weren’t on the floor. My arms flailed as my back slammed against something. I bounced off it and fell face-first onto a dark floor. Then I rolled over and inspected my surroundings.

The room was pitch-black except for a white desk in the middle. A purple ring surrounded it. That was Frost’s desk. The exact desk that we needed to shut down. It must have been what had broken my fall. Beth had fallen beside me, but she was already getting up.

“Is this the place? Frost’s room?” Beth asked as she popped her back. “It’s so dark in here. How does she get any work done?”

“She can manipulate the environment with that thing.” I pointed at the guilty desk. “It can pull off all sorts of tricks, including controlling every White Dwarf in existence.”

Beth examined the desk’s surface. There wasn’t much to look at. Without Frost tapping away at it, it was nothing more than a bright desk.

“This weird block of snow controls the Dwarfs?” Beth asked as she aimed at it. “How many shots do you think it’ll take to destroy it?”

“Whoa, whoa! Finger off the trigger, missy.” I ran my hand over the desk surface. It felt so strange seeing it without Frost attached to it. Where was she? “Let me try hacking it. There might be useful information hidden in it.”

Beth rolled her eyes but also lowered her rifle. “Then be my guest. Just be quick about it.”

As if I needed a reminder that our friends were buying us time outside. I connected with the desk and felt the technological equivalent of a mountain of worms. This tech felt like it was hiding a century’s worth of data. I needed to be quick, but I wouldn’t be if I had to sift through all the data. I’d be lucky if I finished before the day was over.

With literally no time to lose, I shut my eyes and entered the world of data.

Electricity flooded my system. Information tickled every inch of me as I explored. I couldn’t understand half of what I was submerged in, but I knew it was all useful. It’d just be more useful once I understood it.

“Mommy!” said a distant voice. It sounded like a little girl sitting at the bottom of a well.

Where did that come from? I thought to myself. Since when could data talk?

Frost must have hidden more than numbers and letters in there. Was it possible that she had hidden memories as well? Something similar to the Knowledge Stream? Frost was exactly the kind of person who would see her memories as nothing more than data to be stored.

I had to find the source of that cry. I focused on the area that it had come from. Eventually, I saw a little girl; she wasn’t even a teenager yet. I had no idea what she looked like because there wasn’t much data on her. There was just information on her mother.

“What is it, Maggie?” asked a more mature voice. That had to be her mother. “Another bad dream?”

Maggie giggled. “I can’t sleep. Let’s play!”

“Oh? But you were asleep just a moment ago. The Sun hasn’t even risen yet. At least take a nap, sweetheart.”

The girl’s mother wasn’t being entirely truthful about the Sun. They weren’t on any planet. They were on this ship, the First Ship. An older version of it. This was where Maggie had grown up, far away from ordinary people. Her only friend had been her own mother, hence her desire to spend every waking moment with her…

“I don’t want a nap. I want to play!” Maggie paused, as if remembering her manners. The ones she barely knew yet. “Please?”

Her mother chuckled. “Fine. Ten minutes, and then you need to give that nap another try. Your bed misses you.”

Maggie giggled as she hopped onto her mother’s lap. Her mother handed her a handheld computer and pulled out an identical one. They played their game for much longer than ten minutes.

I smiled at the innocence. I was essentially reading a series of journal entries that had been hidden in the desk. But, the wording used was far beyond what a kid was capable of. They were the entries of a woman reminiscing on her childhood. Based on the little girl’s name, I knew exactly who had written it…

The journal went on to describe various occasions on which Maggie and her mother had spent time together. Sometimes, Maggie’s father had interrupted them. Sometimes he had demanded to speak with her mother in private, and an argument had ensued: it had been the kind of argument that was audible throughout the ship and that Maggie could describe in detail…

Other times, her father had simply entered the room, and Maggie’s mother had dropped everything. Then she had tried to teach Maggie something “boring” like politics and the traits of a “capable leader.” There was no debating who was the fun parent. Unfortunately, what I read next wasn’t a laughing matter at all…

Maggie was older in those entries. She was actually a teen and possessed the rebellious nature that came with the title. She would scoff at her father’s teaching and focus all her attention on her aging mother. However, their time together shrunk as Maggie’s studies consumed her life. This led to Maggie skipping “classes” altogether, which her mother wasn’t happy with.

“You cannot disobey your father so often, Maggie.” Her mother sat in a wooden chair, shrouded in a blanket. The years hadn’t been kind to her. Perhaps the stress of dealing with her husband had been weighing on her. “I know how badly you want to, believe me, but doing so won’t be beneficial to anyone.”

“Why can’t you just teach me? You’ve done it before!” Maggie protested to her mother. “I don’t need Father. He’s never done a thing for me that didn’t involve my studies. I don’t think we’ve ever even hugged before! You’re my real parent, so why not become my teacher too?”

Her mother sighed. “You know I can’t. I don’t meet the requirements. I don’t come from a prestigious bloodline like your father. I have no idea how to teach you to become a true Frost.”

“I don’t care about that!”

“You should! For your own good, Margaret. Not another word on the matter.”

Maggie wanted nothing more than to keep arguing, but she respected her mother too much. If she said the conversation was over, then it was. Her mother wouldn’t get another word out of her. Maggie made sure of that by storming out of the room, which was a decision that she came to regret.

Every day after that encounter, Maggie distanced herself more and more from her mother. She did what her mother had asked and focused on her studies. Every moment of her day was miserable, but she gained an inkling of joy whenever she remembered that she was suffering for her mother.

One day, Maggie decided to surprise her mother with ice cream. The only problem was…she couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in her favorite chair, her room, or any of the other rooms Maggie was allowed to enter on the ship. Where had she gone?

While searching, Maggie ran into the one person she didn’t want to see. It was a man with brown and white hair. His face was covered in a brown beard. His eyes were colder than the ice cream that Maggie held. It was her father and least favorite person.

“Hello, Margaret,” he said in a posh yet deep voice. “On your way to study, I assume.”

“Where is she?” Maggie asked in a venom-laced voice. “Where is my mother?”

“What does it matter? You’ve no further need for that woman. You’re finally applying yourself and taking your studies seriously. Continue down this path, and you’ll blossom into the leader that I expect you to be. That is all.”

Glazus tried to leave, but Maggie blocked his path. He didn’t look happy about that, but she could guarantee that she was far more upset than him.

“Where the hell is my mother, Glazus?” Maggie demanded. “You know I’ll never stop asking.”

Glazus sighed as he closed his eyes. “It would have been better for all of us if you had. Your mother has always been a distraction, but your attachment to her prevented me from addressing the problem until now. Your mother is gone, and if you must grieve, do it now rather than later—”

Maggie lunged at her father, screaming every obscene thing that popped into her head. Glazus caught her flailing arms and noted her menacing glare. Her father rebuked her behavior, stating that it wasn’t worthy of a true leader. Something along those lines; she wasn’t actually listening.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as reality set in. If her father said her mother was gone, then Maggie would never see her again. She would never have wanted to say goodbye, but she wished she’d had the chance to…

The journal entries grew even sparser after that. The principal moments of Maggie’s life got honorable mentions, but there was nothing in detail. Just stuff like the reluctant continuation of her studies, a “promotion” of sorts, and mentioning that the plan was for her to become the next president. Plan? It sounded like everything had been mapped out in advance: her presidency, renaming Mars New Earth, and, “finally,” establishing total control over the galaxy.

Mapped out by whom?

Even as Maggie went on to describe these events, she didn’t seem interested in them. Hence she only mentioned them. Odd, considering that the modern-day Maggie spoke proudly about all that stuff like it had been her idea. Now it sounded like it had all been planted in her head by a group known as the “Council” occasionally mentioned in the entries.

Creepy.

There was one more entry that got a detailed description, so, of course, I had to read it. Maggie was an adult now. She mentioned that the election would end soon and she’d be declared the president. She wrote with such confidence even though the voting hadn’t yet begun. It sounded like the Council had more power than I’d thought.

Maggie wrote that she had one last act to carry out as a free woman, one that had been years in the making. With a special security squad in tow, Maggie set off to visit her father. She found him in his room, which was wide enough to fit several cruisers and adorned with white tapestries. One wall was just a giant window; it showed off outer space. He stood in front of that window with his back to her as she walked in with the security squad.

All of them aimed their rifles at him, setting off a series of clacks that caused him to turn around. The shock on his face was “priceless.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Glazus asked, motioning to the security officers. “Aim those away from me!”

“They no longer take orders from you, Father,” Maggie stated. “As the upcoming president, I’m in charge now. But before I can claim the title, there are a few deeds that need doing.”

Glazus gritted his teeth as the realization struck him. “You can’t do this. I’m the only reason why you’re here. I raised you to become who you are today. I’m your father!”

“Did that stop you from killing my mother?! Seraphine Williams was murdered for being kind to me. It’s time that I finally righted that injustice.”

“What an ungrateful child. Seraphine would have been ashamed of who you’ve become. I give you all the power in the galaxy, and this is how you repay me?”

“You’ve ruined my life! It’s not even mine to live. It’s a life that you’ve sketched out for me. I hate it. I never wanted any of this. I would have loved to become a kind and helpful soul like my mother, but you robbed me of that chance. There’s no going back for me, so why fight it? I’m going to be the best president that this galaxy has ever seen, and, to do that, I can’t have you or the impossible expectations imposed by Omen Frost hanging over my head! Not anymore. It’s over, Father. Surrender.”

Glazus’s eyes darted around the room, searching for an exit. He shut them as he realized that there wasn’t one. He raised his hands in surrender, a gesture that brought immeasurable satisfaction to Maggie.

“I see. I suppose I’ve brought about my own downfall, haven’t I? Have it your way, Margaret. I’ll simply have to watch your reign from my jail cell.” Glazus smirked. “Let’s see how long they can keep a Frost behind bars.”

Maggie chuckled. “Oh, Father. A fool to the bitter end. You truly believe I’m here to imprison you?”

Maggie held her arms out. One of the soldiers placed his rifle in them. The weapon was hefty in her hands. She loved it. Thanks to her various studies, she knew exactly how to operate the weapon. She disengaged the safety catch and aimed at her father’s heart. His eyes widened in horror, giving Maggie one last pang of satisfaction.

“Wait!” Glazus held his hands out.

Maggie pulled the trigger. A beam of light shot out of the rifle and drilled through Glazus’s chest. It exploded against the glass behind him, cracking it. Smoke drifted off Glazus’s sizzling wound. His jaw dropped as his shoulders slumped, and he crumbled to the floor like a pair of dropped keys.

As she gazed at her father’s corpse, Maggie thought she would feel grief or guilt. Killing a parent seemed like an impossible task, one that never needed to happen. In actuality, when she looked upon her father’s lifeless body, all she felt was relief. The monster that had ruined her life and stolen her happiness was finally gone. Her life was her own for the first time.

“Clean up this mess, please.” Maggie handed the rifle back to the security officer. “And find someone to fix that window before it bursts.”

Thus ended the journal entries. All I had seen were a few snippets out of Frost’s life, but it felt like I finally understood her. Her issues with legacy were a magnified version of mine. She’d had her whole life written out for her just because she was a Frost. She had gained power but lost her soul.

Pain enveloped my chest as I was launched into the air. I rolled on the floor then pushed myself up. The room wasn’t entirely black anymore. I was surrounded by at least ten White Dwarfs. Beth was locked in combat with two of them, and two more were reaching for me.

I grabbed my pistol and fired at both. The blasts didn’t do much, but the explosions were excellent distractions. I rolled away, jumped to my feet, and backed up toward Beth as she leapt away from the Dwarfs she’d been fighting. She flinched as our backs touched then groaned in frustration.

“What have you been doing? You were supposed to disable these things!” Beth said. “You didn’t even flinch when they popped out of the walls. Was the system too encrypted?”

“No. I just got distracted.”

“You got distracted?!”

The microphone feedback from Red City went off again. I gazed up at the ceiling. Frost?

“How have you all become so predictable?” Frost’s voice boomed from above. “I knew you’d come here, which is exactly why I hid my White Dwarfs here beforehand. I hope the two of you are prepared to be captured. I guarantee that you’re out of tricks, so this truly is the end.”

She wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t zap the Dwarfs, and I doubted that I could manually deactivate them all. My options were limited. My best bet seemed to be to rely on Beth to finish them all, but she wasn’t strong enough. I watched as she darted around the room, slashing at them, only to be blown away by a single blast.

We couldn’t win through force. If I’d been able to get back to the desk, I would have tried disabling the Dwarfs from there again. Unfortunately, finding what we needed would have taken longer than we had. I hadn’t found much the first time. Perhaps it was time to do what I did best: talk.

“Is this seriously what you want?” I fired off my pistol as I backed away from the Dwarfs. My blasts were keeping them at bay, but not for long. “The Red City citizens know what you tried to pull back there. Good luck controlling the galaxy after word spreads of your missile barrage.”

“Yes, subtlety is out. However, I’ve decided that I no longer care. After you’re imprisoned, I’ll return to Red City and finish what I started. It’ll be much easier with you out of the way. After that, the rest of the galaxy will know to fear me instead of worshipping me. It’ll be much more satisfying.”

A White Dwarf smacked Beth into the floor. She lay there, groaning. I yelped and ran to her side, but a Dwarf stepped in front of me. The floor thumped as another Dwarf stomped up behind me. Oh no.

Frost laughed. “Finally, victory is within my grasp! Apologies, Wander, but you sealed your fate the day you chose the AI over me.”

I backed up and bumped into the Dwarf. I could have willed it to turn off, but it would have taken too long. My frantic heartbeat prevented me from developing a coherent plan.

“Frost!” I shielded my face as the Dwarfs closed in. “Maggie!”

The Dwarfs froze. It was like I’d cast a spell. I’d only done that out of desperation, but it had worked anyway. Was Frost’s name some sort of fail-safe? All the Dwarfs turned around and marched toward the walls. White openings formed, creating doorways for the robots. They marched through them, and darkness closed around them.

The Dwarfs went back into storage. What was going on? I spotted Beth getting back up and rushed to lend a hand.

“What did you do?” Beth asked as I pulled her to her feet. “Did you finally get to the desk?”

“No. All I did was…well, it’s hard to explain. You didn’t see what I saw when I touched that desk. Basically—”

A new door opened up on the wall. Standing in the white space was someone in a purple and black space suit. It had to be Frost. Her helmet was up, so I couldn’t get a good look at her face. Beth aimed her rifle at Frost. I should have adopted a fighting stance too, but I was too stunned.

If Frost was actually standing in front of us, then this was where it all ended. Entire months had been leading up to this moment. Now my heart was really pounding.

“Why did you call me that?” Frost’s voice was lower than it had ever been.

I clenched my fists. “I read all your journal entries when I touched that desk. I saw your whole history. I know all about your parents, and…I finally get it. You’re a victim of the war, just like the rest of us.”

“She is not!” Beth recoiled in disgust. “She’s one of the only reasons why this war is still going. Don’t sympathize with someone so cruel, Brother. Whatever you saw doesn’t matter, we’re finishing this now!”

Beth fired at Frost. The beam got within a centimeter of her before it veered off and exploded against the ceiling. Frost hadn’t moved an inch to make that happen.

“What the hell?!” Beth glanced down at her rifle. “What happened?”

“If you truly saw everything, Wander, then you understand why I had to ensure that I could never be assassinated.” Frost patted her suit. “Any projectile soaring too quickly toward me will be repulsed. I wouldn’t fire too many times if I were you. One of your beams might find its way back to you.”

Now we couldn’t even shoot her? Looked like I wouldn’t have to wonder whether her suit was insulated.

Frost’s palm glowed purple. It reminded me of Nessa’s plasma palms. I should have seen that coming. I ducked to the side as a purple blast soared past me and exploded. When I fired electricity, it veered away from her as expected. But, as intended, the light from my electricity smoke-screened Beth’s approach.

Beth slashed at Frost, who stepped out of range. She had to manually dodge that, confirming that we could still touch her. I took note of that.

“I don’t care what your sob story is; you’re still a criminal!” Beth landed a roundhouse kick on Frost, sending her stumbling. “You murdered my parents. You’re why I had to become a war machine at the age of fourteen. You’re why my brother hates me! I’ll make you pay for everything—”

Frost caught Beth’s arm as she attempted another slash. She blasted Beth’s chest, launching her backwards. Her rifle clattered behind her. For the second time in ten minutes, Beth lay groaning. She’d been through so much in so little time. The words she’d spat at Frost had only confirmed that.

I thought my months had been rough, but Beth had gone through a complete personality change in the same period. She had become a Hybrid, and, even though she claimed to love it, she obviously had some regret deep down inside. And the part about me hating her? Just what kind of stuff went through that head of hers?

Guilt grasped my stomach as I remembered our talk back on the Oppressed base. She had gotten the wrong idea out of that, but what had I expected? She was so young, and she already felt like our parents had loved me more than her. I should have chosen my words more carefully.

“What, are you not going to make an attempt?” Frost asked me.

Oh, yeah. We were fighting.

“Hand-to-hand is my sister’s thing. I’m more of a ranged fighter, but range is useless in this fight. You know, some video game bosses give tips when the hero fails too many times. What do you got for me?”

Frost chuckled. “Still believe you’re the hero after what you saw? I could have been worse, you know. I didn’t have to treat you or this galaxy so nicely…up until now. But, as a Frost, I suppose I was destined to end up like this. Why fight destiny?”

“You should fight it because it doesn’t exist, for starters. Heck, I’m not even the first Alpha, so I know that destiny is full of it. We decide who we are, just like you decided to be nice to me because you wanted to be the mother that Seraphine was to you.”

“Do not speak my mother’s name.” Frost adopted the deep tone she’d had when she had walked in. “You can’t convince me to ‘turn good’ using her, so do not try.”

“I wasn’t going to. I was going to say that you failed. You sucked at being a mom. Seraphine would have been disappointed.”

Purple filled the room as Frost charged both of her palms. She unleashed a gut-wrenching cry, firing both at me. I dropped to the floor as the blasts flew over me…and exploded against Frost’s desk.

Gotcha.

Purple combined with orange as the desk exploded. The explosion flung me across the room. Pain surged through my chest, but Frost’s gasp made it worth it. I had wanted to preserve the desk, but my hand had been forced. Shutting off the Dwarfs was a priority, which was why the desk had to be destroyed.

Color sparked throughout the room. Darkness changed to blue, red, purple, and every other color that I could name. It was like we were standing in a rainbow. The colors continued to change until they settled on what were basically the color bars on a TV. Static took the form of cracks between the colors.

Breaking the desk also broke the room.

“Sorry about your room, Frost, but you had it coming.” I stood up, but buckled as pain spiked through my sides. I couldn’t fight like this, so, hopefully, Frost would just surrender. “Your Dwarfs are done for. Without that desk managing the whole system, they won’t know what to do.”

Frost’s eyes were glued to the fiery remains of the desk. Then her body shook. Was she crying? No, the joyful sound that filled the room said otherwise. She’d just destroyed her own Dwarf database, so why was she laughing?

“You believed that I used the desk to manage the Dwarfs?” Frost whipped toward me. “The desk that any treacherous employee could destroy while I slept? How ridiculous. No, child, everything I need to control my Dwarfs is within this suit. I alone have access to it!”

I must have forgotten that Frost was smart.

Beth slammed her fist on the floor and groaned. Now what? How could I shut down the system if it was in her suit? The suit that we couldn’t destroy? With the odds stacked against me like that, there was only option left.

“Take your shot when you get the chance,” I told Beth as I stood up. She gave me a look of confusion, but I couldn’t dwell on it. I focused on Frost instead. “Looks like you win after all, Maggie. There’s not a whole lot I can do here. I think I’ll just concede and finally give you what you want: my loyalty. If you agree to spare my friends, I’ll join up with you, blah, blah, blah. Oh, if that’s still what you want.”

“But of course.” Frost crossed her arms. “Who could say ‘no’ to having someone with your abilities on their side? I don’t believe that you’ll truly be loyal, but with your friends’ lives on the line, it’s safe to say that you won’t try anything.”

She had a point. I wouldn’t be trying a thing. I willed my suit to open up, which it did with a series of clacks. I stepped out of the suit, leaving me in my blue shirt and black jeans. I looked like an ordinary teen as long as you ignored the bionic right arm. Sighing, I approached Frost. Without my suit, she had no reason to be on edge. Perfect.

I grunted as plasma dug into my back. I coughed and crumpled to the floor. Standing there with her rifle aimed at me was Beth. She had literally shot me in the back…

“How dare you abandon us like that,” Beth spat.

“Wander!” Frost exclaimed. She blasted Beth away and rushed to my side. Kneeling down, she touched my chest. The damage had been done to my back, but it was close enough. “Are you all right? How deadly is that weapon?”

There it was: the motherly concern that Frost would always have. I thought it was gone after what she had pulled in Red City, but firing missiles at a speck wasn’t the same as watching someone get shot before your eyes.

“God, why did she do that?” I groaned as the pain spiked. It felt like a burning spear was embedded in my back. “It hurts, I can’t lie. But…not as much as it’s going to hurt when your empire crashes around you.”

I seized Frost’s arm, eliciting a gasp from her. I smirked as I willed myself into her systems. It felt less like traversing a sea of data and more like searching for a specific flower to pick. I chose my flower, placing myself in the middle of the Dwarf network.

Frost struggled against me. That was when Beth showed up to hold her in place. Blood dripped from her lips, a consequence of the hit she’d taken. If she could still help after that, she had to be immensely strong. She flashed me a smile, which I returned, then I fully immersed myself in the network.

“Listen up, losers!” I said as though the Dwarfs could hear me—and they could. I was giving them orders the same way Frost would. It was like when a kid spoke through their school’s P.A. system. “As of now, you and the Black Dwarfs you’re responsible for are done fighting. You’re officially on standby because I’m happy to announce that this centuries-old AI War is finally over!”

I willed the network to shut down. Immediately, I felt the results. It was like a string of lights had all fizzled out at once. I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on my face. The White Dwarfs outside, the ones back in Red City, and the ones currently being made were all being shut down.

I deactivated Frost’s suit and let go of her wrist as she collapsed beside me. As I stared down at my palm, I saw that it was shaking. Uncontrollably. I gripped it with my bionic hand. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. Why was I crying? Were these tears of joy? It had been so long since I’d had a reason for those, but this sure was a worthy one.

The AI War had claimed millions if not billions of lives across three to four centuries, and I’d just brought it to an end. I was never going to find a better reason for crying.

“Wander, are you hurt?” Beth rushed to my side and inspected my back. “That was what you wanted me to do, wasn’t it? Shoot you to drop her guard? Did it work—”

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a hug. She froze. We hadn’t had a real hug since she came back. A shudder ran through her body, and she returned the gesture. Beth and I had gone on make-believe adventures when we were kids, and, now that we were all grown up, our biggest adventure yet had just come to an end.

“I don’t hate you; I never could.” I shuddered as I struggled to prevent myself from crying even more. “I’m sorry I ever made you feel that way. I’m sorry for everything I did to make you feel spite toward me, or—”

“Stop apologizing, it’s disgusting,” Beth said with a small chuckle. “I…I know you don’t hate me. I could never truly hate you either. I was just frustrated at a lot of things. I thought that spending time with Frost had done something to you, but I see now. I see how wrong I was. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I apologize as well.”

I finally felt like I had my sister back. It didn’t matter if she was Beth or Beta anymore. As long as we had each other’s backs, we’d be fine.

“How very touching,” Frost said with a strained voice as she lay motionless beside us. Her energy visor was gone, revealing the frustrated expression on her face. “Don’t celebrate too much, because this isn’t over. As long as I draw breath, the Council will look after me. If I am defeated, they will restore my power, and I will return. You’re only prolonging the inevitable!”

There was the mention of the Council again. Weird. I would ask what they were, but I wouldn’t get a proper answer.

“As long as you draw breath huh?” Beth glanced at her riflesword. “Then let’s change that.”

She raised the blade above Frost’s chest. All confidence fled from Frost’s face as she kept her eyes on the blade that could steal her life in an instant.

“Stop!” I held my arm out in front of Beth. Pain gripped my sides again, reminding me that I couldn’t stop Beth if I wanted to. “We can’t kill her.”

“Why not? She killed our parents, countless innocent people, and she just killed Delta. She deserves death at the least.”

I clenched my jaw. “Maybe so, but not like this. She’s not dangerous in this state, and she needs to face legal justice for all the crimes she’s committed. Plus she has more to tell us about this ‘Council’: Info that we can’t get out of her now. We need to keep her captive on Epsilon or the Mainframe for a while.”

I could say that the journal entries I’d read had nothing to do with this decision. The problem was that it would make me a liar. I pitied Margaret more now than I ever had before. I didn’t think she could be redeemed or anything crazy like that, but I didn’t believe she deserved to be murdered either. I wanted her imprisoned so that she could come to her senses someday. I wanted to meet the real Maggie at least once.

“You want to personally imprison me?” Frost’s eyes widened in horror. “No, no, you can’t. That means the Council will go through you to get to me. Wander, you can’t endanger yourself like that.”

“It’s not like I can hand the president over to the cops. We’ll need some time to figure things out and show everyone how horrible you are. You won’t be with us forever.” I turned to Beth. “Sound like a plan?”

Both of Beth’s hands were clenched. She looked like she’d just been told the most unpleasant thing known to man. She couldn’t have been happy about it, but I trusted her to trust me.

“Whatever you say, Brother.” Beth glared at Frost, but said nothing else.

The door to Frost’s room slid open. Beth and I whipped toward the entrance. A familiar head of red hair poked its way inside. My heart swelled as Laura and the rest of our friends rushed in. Each of them was smiling despite the dents and scratches on their suits. Their faces weren’t much better. One of Anderson’s eyes was swollen, but at least he was alive. They all were!

“Did someone order a hallway full of brain-dead Dwarfs?” Kaela grinned as she said that. “Because that’s exactly what we got. You guys did it!”

I held my arms out as my friends rushed over to give me the heaviest group hug I would ever receive. I shut my eyes and let myself feel happy. No stress, no concerns, no wondering how I’d be fighting for my life tomorrow. Just happiness and relief.

We’d won.