AFTER THE MEETING WE WALKED to the training rooms. I felt drained, overwhelmed at the importance of everything that until now, hadn't seemed quite so real. Rashid asked us all to step into the Lieutenants' office, and Ignatius pulled a seat out at the table for me. I felt Alek's annoyance and winked at him when we sat, hoping to lighten the mood.

The air seemed tense. Yakov paced behind Elena's seat as I shrugged out of the robe and laid it on the table. Confused, I asked, 'Is ...