Not created by me, not by Nole, but it exists. And it’s in the dying brain of the man who created the virus. How fitting. How ironic. Of course he’d be the one to have the cure. And I’d be the one asked to save his life.

“Your dad—Galilei—is the one to blame for Nole’s death. Not the Spores.” A swell of fury fills me, but Luc remains calm. Accepting of my anger.

“He’s responsible for this dreamscape we’re trapped in,” he acknowledges. “But the people here have their own free will. Spores choose to kill. Thousands of other people have managed to survive in here. My father is guilty of creating the setting, but not the actions of its inhabitants.”

I know he’s right, but that doesn’t slow my heart rate or breathing. My hands itch to throw something, crush something . . . or someone. I glance at Crixus, and he gives me a hard look. He takes a long deep inhale, and I find myself doing the same, expelling some of the overwhelming emotion.

I turn back to Luc. I don’t want to save his old man. I don’t want to help. But if it will bring the cure to the masses, I have to.

“Even if I did rescue your dad’s LifeSuPod, he’s still unconscious. He’s stuck in this Nightmare the same as we are. How would we get any information from him?”

“He’s in the Tunnel. I’m working on getting him out. But he has to stay alive, first.”

I force myself to consider the details of the offer: I’d get my own LifeSuPod, and we’d access the cure. Not a bad exchange . . . if Dear Old Dad truly will hand over the information we need.

“My truck bed can fit only one LifeSuPod. There wouldn’t be room for an empty one of my own.”

“The location you’ll take my father’s LifeSuPod to has an empty one plugged in, charged, and stocked with all the medical and caloric necessities to preserve your body for two Old World years. All you’d have to do is get in it.”

That’s ten years here in Tenebra. He’s not merely offering me a way to stay alive, he’s offering me a new life.

“Why will I need a LifeSuPod if your father has the cure?”

“Just in case we can’t administer it in time. You know what I mean—your Awake time is dwindling. My father’s body not only needs to be saved, but we need to get him out of the Tunnel too. That’s the only way to communicate with him.”

It’s interesting to look at this young man—this Emperor—and think of him having such care for his father despite his father trapping all of us, all of humanity in this death dream.

But then I picture Mom. Even at her worst, when she let depression win and emotionally abandoned Nole and me, I would have done the same for her. I’d want to save her. Because of hope—hope for life, hope for second chances.

Can I deny Luc that?

“Why not try to restore power to the high-rise?” Crixus asks in a low voice from the corner.

Luc swivels. “Crixus! I almost forgot you were there.” He laughs, but it’s weak. “That’s not a bad question.” He turns back toward me. “How are you with electricity?”

“About as good as I am with math.”

Luc laughs again. “No luck then. Besides, what’s to stop the Spores from cutting the power again?”

“They’d likely not expect it—”

Luc holds up a hand. Crixus resumes a submissive stance. I appreciate his willingness to consider alternatives. A Plan B is always a good idea.

“So what do you say, Cain?” Luc has a carefree tilt to his head, but there is a shadowed sheen of desperation hovering behind his eyes. “I know this is all new to you. I don’t expect you to trust me or help me. I’m merely appealing to your humanity.”

“And I’m trying to stay alive.”

“A LifeSuPod will help with that.” He smiles.

I get that his dad is dying. That’s unfortunate. But this is about more than that—the cure. My life. I hardly know Luc, and I certainly don’t trust him. Surely there are other factors that haven’t crossed my mind yet, but my thoughts are too foggy—too infected—to think through any of them clearly.

I need clarity of mind, and the only place I have that is in the Real World. “Give me one more Awake to decide.”

“Very well.” Luc nods to Crixus. “Give him some extra training, would you? And get him in proper noxior attire.”

I frown. “You’re sending me back to the Arena?”

“It’s essential, Cain. The battle with the wings, spear, and bull slaughter was a great sign. The dagger an even better one. But like I said, you’re untrained and therefore need training. Even I can’t hand you citizenship until you earn it. You’re still a noxior.”

“I could die in there!” One wrong move and I get gored by a bull horn. Done. Dead. No LifeSuPod. No cure. No saving Luc’s dad.

Crixus slides his gladius from its scabbard with barely a shing.

“You’re willing to risk that?” I press. “I thought I was your only chance to save your old man.”

“I’m willing to risk it.” This statement is so firm and confident that a pulse of anger propels me forward but thin sharp metal meets my throat. Crixus.

“You’re proving my point right now,” Luc says.

So if I don’t help him, he’ll force me to keep fighting. “You’re blackmailing me into agreeing to save your father.”

“No. I am staying true to the laws of Tenebra as any responsible Emperor would. I want you to fight, and I want you to win. To grow so you can have a real life here.” His eyes are hard now.

“I don’t need a life here if I’m the one rescuing your dad and he gives us the cure!”

A knock on the door interrupts us. Luc crosses and opens it. A woman stands hand in hand with a small boy of about six or seven. She hands Luc a scroll. He smiles at the boy, then opens the scroll.

“Hello, Eddie. Are you ready to find your mom and dad?”

Eddie’s little chin quivers, and the woman passes his hand over to Luc’s.

I’m not done with him yet. “You’re the Emperor. Aren’t you supposed to take care of your citizens?”

“You’re not a citizen, Cain.” He tucks Eddie’s name scroll into his belt and stands in the doorway with the boy. “None of the noxiors are until they achieve freedom from the Arena. If I recall correctly, that happens with your first kill.”

“I killed the bull.”

He gives a wry smile. “I’m not talking about nightbeasts.”

People. I have to kill a person—probably another noxior. That isn’t going to happen, but I’m not about to tell him that. His dad is as good as dead.

“If you don’t earn your way out of the Arena and into our society, no one will accept you. In all honesty, they’ll probably kill you. No one will trust you. Least of all me.”

“Some New World this is.”

“Frankly, Cain, if you can’t survive the Arena with your unique nightmist power, I’m not sure I’d want you in Tenebra anyway. I protect my own, Cain. I fight for my own. You’re not my own. Yet.”

I pick up my kris dagger, flip it once and catch it by the hilt. Then I walk out on the Emperor of Tenebra and his centurion lackey. The little boy cowers behind Luc as I stalk back toward my prison within a prison.