Eli replaced Danyen on the bed, but he didn’t place his arm around her. Instead, he rested his elbows on his knees, hunched over. “Kit, now that you have this information, you have to be cautious about how you react to it.”

Her head turned, her eyes widened. “How I react to it? Eli, I’m furious! I’ve been betrayed, not only by one of my own Representatives, but by my own mother! Pierce needs to be dismissed at once, and she needs to be brought up on charges to the council. This is... reprehensible!”

His hands come out between them, modeling the caution he’d just spoken of. “I understand why...