The villa was deserted. Melusin and Antos would still be with the gerotus for several more hours, and with Ceilos gone, there was no sign of life apart from myself and Isaak. Our footsteps echoed through the empty passageway. But I still had the unsettling feeling that someone was following us, watching our every move. Unseen eyes made goosebumps rise on the back of my neck. Knowing that the Liberator had been able to tap into my private evaluation, not to mention the gerotus, made it feel like he was everywhere—always watching, missing nothing.

I hurried into the classroom once more, Isaak following closely behind me. This time I activated the artificial lighting. Something about the dim phosphorescent glow made me uneasy—and reminded me of last night. I didn’t want to think about that again, and certainly not now.

“Gitrin told me to begin where we began,” I said.

“When did she tell you that?”

I hesitated. “She had… left a message for me in her apartment.”

Isaak’s eyes widened. “And you didn’t feel the need to share that with Ceilos and me because…?”

I looked away. “She told me not to tell anyone. I shouldn’t be telling you, honestly. But it feels too late, now. Anyway, she said, ‘begin where we began,’ and I realized”—I strode over to the antique globe—“that that was here. My first lesson, years ago, was memorizing the regions of Iamos.”

Isaak came up beside me, running his fingers over the globe, the hills and valleys in gentle relief. It was old, almost a hundred years. The planet looked so different now, it was almost impossible to imagine. There was so much blue—oceans and rivers that were now almost completely dry. The continents were green and gray. The rust-red ground that covered the world now, oxidized by the violent changes in the climate, was nowhere to be seen on the globe.

“Not quite Mars,” Isaak said with a small laugh. “But it’s close. Some of the coastlines are shaped differently now, but you can just see the outline…” He traced his finger along the peninsula. The capital of our region had been there, on the coast. The citidome had been build nearby, nestled into the hills, but the sea had withered away. There was still some bits of ocean left, but it was several days’ journey away. You couldn’t see the coastline now.

“Tierra Nueva,” Isaak whispered.

“What’s that?” I asked.

He smiled weakly. “My home.”

I felt a pang in my chest. Iamos would be inhabitable again, but it wasn’t the Iamoi who would live here. Other people would take my homeworld and not even know that it was mine.

Because we’d all be dead.

I clenched my fist. “Never mind that. Gitrin said, ‘the three sisters will guide the way.’” I turned the globe slightly, following the planet’s curve east to the mountains near Bright Horizon, Ceilos’ home citidome. “The Haoi Ifaisteoi mountain range. I used to call them the sisters when I was little.”

“Elysium Mons,” Isaak said. “And Mount Hecates and Mount Albor. The Elysium mountain range.”

I quirked my head at him. Elysium. It almost sounded like a word in the old language. That odd sense of being watched crept up on me again. “Gitrin told me to touch the highest peak, and find her in the place where freedom lies. So, if we’re looking at the three sisters…” I reached out with my index finger, tapping the tip of the central mountain. It was round and raised from the globe’s surface, worn smooth with wear.

“Nothing happened,” Isaak said.

I frowned, remembering the words that had been carved on Gitrin’s wall. The Liberator had said them to me before disconnecting. “N’elytherios tou shenos.”

Two things happened at once: the globe snapped open, parting between hemispheres, revealing a cavity; and Gitrin’s voice whispered in my ear, “Nadin.”

I gasped. Isaak grinned, reaching into the globe to pull out what was inside. My eyes couldn’t focus on him. There was nothing but Gitrin’s voice, telling me what I needed to know.

“Nadin?” Isaak asked, cradling the small object in his hands. “Hello?”

I blinked a few times, trying to bring my attention back to the classroom. I took a shaky breath and took the silver trapezoid out of Isaak’s hands.

“It’s a posternkey,” I said.

“For the time postern?”

“No.” I swallowed. “A regular space postern. It’s going to take us to where Gitrin is. And, I assume, Ceilos, too.”

Isaak furrowed his brow. “Well? Where are they?”

I looked down at the globe, slowly moved to close it. It snapped shut, seamless. You’d never know it had held something inside.

“Elytherios,” I said.