Rory didn't come back to his dorm until late. Eden had made a valiant effort to wait up for him, nestled in the blankets he’d left on the couch, but sometime in the warmth, she’d succumbed to sleep. He made no effort to stay quiet as he came in, letting the door slam angrily behind him. The light from his office streamed through into the bedroom where she was no longer sleeping. She kicked the blankets away and lingered in the doorway between suites; Rory had shed his jacket and tie on the ground and was slumped in his desk chair.

“You’re home late,” she said, hesitating before stepping into the room. She approached the desk slowly, as if he might bolt at any moment. The look in his eyes said he might. She’d only ever seen that level of panic in his eyes once before. “Are you okay, Rory? What happened?”

“I don’t know where to start,” he said. “I don’t even think I should involve you in this, to be honest. It’s dangerous, Eden. It’s worse; it’s all worse than I thought it was.”

Her heart sank. Lucas had been right. She hated to admit it, even as she saw it unfolding before her eyes. Something had happened, something worse had happened with his project. Of course, it wouldn’t just be a harmless satellite. She’d been naive to think that would be the end of it.

Eden took her usual spot on the corner of Rory’s desk, and she knew that after this night, they would have no secrets left. Something within her shifted and she knew that whatever this mess was that they had both become tangled in had finally brought them back together. No matter what, Eden had no intention of facing this alone any longer. She reached out and took one of Rory’s hands in her own, and she tugged until he looked her in the eyes.

“You can tell me anything,” Eden said. “No secrets.”

“Do you remember when I was telling you about what I was working on?”

“The satellite?”

“Exactly. Except, it’s not just a satellite.”

“It’s more than a satellite?”

“I had no idea, not until today. I just found out. If I’d known, I would have left the project myself immediately, consequences be damned. A satellite was one thing, something with purpose, meant to help the city overall. I knew it was wrong, but it was nothing compared to this. To what the Tyche really is.”

“What is it?” Eden’s voice was barely more than a whisper.

A comment of Lucas’s from earlier, about the amount of Paradisium being more indicative of a weapon than anything, echoed in her mind. He couldn’t be right. She prayed that he wasn’t right, to the stars and whatever laid beyond.

“I’m sorry, Eden,” Rory said. His eyes were red, like he might cry, but he looked away as he spoke. “I really didn’t know, not until just now. The Tyche is more than a satellite. It’s a weapon, like a giant version of the lasers the Cards use. When Paradise found out that we—that they had been smuggling out the Paradisium, they put a stop to it, and Dr. Abrahams wants to get even. He’s going to use it to get whatever he wants, forever. He’s not afraid to use it, on anyone or any city that stands in his way.”

Eden was speechless, something that happened to her rarely but with increasing frequency. This was big, bigger than she’d ever imagined it could be. Rory had been right. There would be war over this; Eden could see no other way. It would only be a matter of time before the other cities threw the treaty in the dirt as well.

“Rory,” she said, hoping something comforting would come to her. It didn’t.

“I don’t know what to do, Eden. I’m standing here, watching a terrible thing about to happen, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I put this on your shoulders as well, but I couldn’t bear it alone. I don’t know what to do. Dr. Abrahams practically owns the city council. They couldn’t stop him even if they wanted to. If I send word to Paradise, to any of my contacts in other cities, won’t it just start the war I’m trying to prevent? What do I do?”

“It’s going to be okay,” Eden murmured automatically, savoring the last moments before she told him what they needed to do.

“How?” Rory demanded. “How will it be okay?”

She couldn’t bear the hopeless look he gave her, his cheeks flushed from the beer and his dark hair an untidy mop on his head. He pulled his hair when he was stressed, and she could see an area that was thinning near his temple. This was killing him. The sooner she told him, the sooner he could stop worrying about his own morality. The sooner he could start questioning her own. She braced herself to bear his judgment, the way he must have, and tried to summon the same courage. She knew what they had to do, but like Rory, she couldn’t do it alone. Not anymore. No more secrets.

“It’s your turn to promise that you won’t hate me.”

“Eden, I could never,” Rory said solemnly.

“I lied,” she said quickly. This was the hard part and there was no use lingering on it. Not when they should probably be looking for Lucas already. “I remember every single second that I was gone. I couldn’t say anything, because I was afraid of what would happen to you, Rory. Because they threatened you.”

“You mean–”

“I was taken by the Hive, and they let me go for a reason. They let me go so that I could find out what you were building, and she told me that if I didn’t find out or if I refused, they would hurt you.”

She hated the way he looked at her now. His expression was clouded with confusion, hurt, and disbelief. More than anything, he looked tired. She waited to see if he would say something, anything, but he just waited silently for her to continue.

"Believe me,” she said. “She–their leader–she doesn’t bluff. I didn’t have a choice–”

“Of course, I believe you,” Rory said, everything falling away except for his trust in her. Bent, perhaps, but unbroken. “You could have told me sooner, though.”

“I know,” she agreed. “I know, I should have. I was afraid. She has eyes everywhere. I didn’t want to say anything but now? I have to go to her with this. If anything can stop this from happening, it’s the Hive. If we explain what the Tyche really is, maybe they can stop it before it launches. It’s our only choice.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Rory sat back in his seat, as speechless as Eden had been earlier. It was ridiculous, Eden acknowledged, to think of going to the Hive for help, given everything that had happened. Eden’s kidnapping and all those before her. The Cards injured in the attacks on warehouses and deliveries. They were crossing into dangerous territory and crossing back wouldn’t be an option.

“We’ll be criminals,” she said. “I mean, I’m already a criminal. But you’ll be a criminal too, if you come with me to explain about it.”

“Shut up,” Rory said. His laugh was an echo of his true laugh. “You aren’t doing this alone anymore. Neither am I. Okay?”

Eden grinned and it felt natural for the first time in weeks. “Okay.”

“Are you sure you know how to find these people?” Rory kept his voice hushed as he trailed behind Eden through the streets.

“Yes. Trust me,” she said, slightly snappier than she meant to be. “Keep your voice down.”

The sooner they got to her meeting spot with Lucas, the better. The idea of Lucas meeting Rory, or of bringing Rory with her into the belly of the Hive, made her sweat. The idea of returning to the Hive at all made her want to bolt. She steeled herself as much as she could as she led him through the streets, back to where she and Lucas had met before. If there was any other option, they would take it, but there was only one option.

She took a seat on the same bench, and Rory stood beside the fountain in the center of the square, pretending to be engrossed in the descriptive plaque on a statue, out of sight as they’d discussed. Better for him to stay out of the way at first, until Lucas had shown himself.

It didn’t take long for Lucas to join her, mere minutes to the hours she had waited previously. He took his seat beside her silently, and this time he held two travel cups of coffee. He offered one to her, and this time, she took it and sipped the bitter liquid.

“Thanks,” she said, trying to keep her voice pleasant.

"I won't lie, I’m surprised to see you here again so soon. And you trust the coffee?"

“I've got news I think you and Bianca would be interested in," she said, straight to the point. Her hands were inexplicably cold. She vowed to never say how grateful she was for the steaming cup of coffee.

“Well?” Lucas prompted. “This was me asking nicely.”

"You were right about the weapon," she said.

Lucas's eyes brightened. "Tell me more,” he said. “I’m listening.”

“The Tyche,” Eden reminded him, lowering her voice as a few people milled past them. The square wasn’t busy this time of day and they had relative privacy. “It’s more than just a satellite. It’s got a laser thing on it.”

“A laser thing?”

“Yes,” Eden said confidently.

“Sounds like bad news,” Lucas said. “Bianca’s going to want to hear about this herself. I’ll escort the both of you. I assume Dr. Lawrence will be able to explain in better detail, what we might be dealing with.” He nodded at Rory, who was unabashedly staring at them from behind the fountain. "Does he think he's being inconspicuous?"

Eden sighed. “He’s doing his best."

Lucas led Eden and Rory through the streets of Haven quickly and efficiently. He was clearly practiced at avoiding crowds, but it wasn’t busy for a weekend, anyways. Eden appreciated the lack of a blindfold, although she was a bit concerned that she was so trusted so quickly. She was a member of the Hive now, and with that came benefits.

More than those benefits, Eden appreciated the way Rory stayed close to her. He was skinny, and had never been much help in a fight, but his presence made her feel safer nonetheless. She could trust him, no matter what. They could trust each other. No more secrets.

Lucas took them past the Garden, and Eden’s skin prickled as they passed the iron gate. He took them past the Garden to the rail station and casually took his place waiting on the platform amongst a group of travelers. They were all dressed for business. No Cards, or city officials among them, although they had passed a City officer at the entrance of the station.

“Which train are we waiting for?” Eden whispered.

Lucas laughed shortly and addressed Rory instead. “I hope you’re the brains of this operation.”

Rory said nothing and stood silently with his arms crossed behind her. The train car opened, and the people waiting on the platform boarded, leaving them behind. As soon as the train rumbled away down the dark tunnel, Lucas jumped down to the tracks and set off behind it.

Eden and Rory shared a nervous look before they fell into step behind him. The tunnel was cold, and a chilling draft was blowing past them. A smell like something burning lingered in the air and every now and again, a rumble filled the tunnel and sent a shiver through Eden. If Rory was as nervous as she was, he didn’t show it, so she set her face like stone and kept her eyes on Lucas’s back. They walked for an hour, perhaps longer, when Eden felt something wrong and turned back.

The rumble started again; Eden’s teeth were chattering. The breath left her body as Lucas’s hand shot out and grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her back against the wall. The tunnel filled with wind and Eden was almost sucked into the path of the train rushing past them. She tried to hold what remained of her breath as it rumbled past them, faster than she could have imagined, whipping her hair into a frenzy around her face. Somehow, her hand found Rory’s and squeezed tightly, anchoring herself to him.

As quickly as it came, the train was gone, and Eden stumbled forward, gasping for breath.

“That’s a good look for you,” Lucas said, eyeing the blonde cloud that surrounded her head. “Let’s keep moving.”

He led them onward until Eden’s feet were sore and aching. Beside her, Rory was breathing hard, though he tried to hide it; the flush in his cheeks betrayed his exhaustion.

Lucas stopped in front of an unlatched door, marked with a maintenance sign. Inside was a space no larger than a linen closet, filled with parts and various chemicals. He stepped back and gestured to them to get inside.

“Is this… it?” Rory asked hesitantly.

“It seemed much larger the last time I was here,” Eden said.

Lucas snorted and knelt to the floor. “Move,” he grunted.

Below them, a hidden hatch opened up to a spindly ladder that stretched, maybe, down into the core of the planet. A cool updraft wafted upwards, and with it, the scent of cold and dirt.

“Ladies first,” Lucas gestured to the ladder.

Eden withered inside but stepped forward, knowing that she’d made it safely to the base once before, but skeptical that the ladder would hold her weight.

Rory’s hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Me first,” he said. “It might be a trap.”

“Rory--”

He was already on the ladder and waved her protest away. As he was swallowed up by the darkness, there was nothing left to do but follow him.