I stepped into the Yard, exhaling a stale breath I hadn't known I'd been holding, feeling the cool of the evening settle around me. I'd done what I could to get through to Mom and though she'd left me high and dry, I felt better for having at least tried.

Now I could act and not have to second-guess myself. Because the threat was real, even in Mom's eyes. Abandoning Trill and Owen to the Brotherhood was totally out of the question. And as I reached for the veil, my ...