Zoe POV

“If you have questions,” Vark says, before I can finish drawing breath, “you’re welcome to direct them to me. There’s no need to trouble my Luna.”

His voice is pleasant. The pleasantness is the most unsettling thing about it—not warm, not cold, just perfectly calibrated, the voice of a man who has decided in advance how every conversation in this room will go.

I close my mouth.

What follows is the formal version of things: introductions ...