I fisted my hands and put as much conviction and acceptance in the voice inside my head as I could. I'm Three. The Core is open. I'm sorry. But I'm going to do everything I can to make things right, and I need your help.

Okay, she said.

Her answer took me off guard because I guessed I expected some kind of protest or whining or complaining that she didn't have the guts to help. Whatever horrors she had been through lately had changed her, like my own had changed me. ...