Being crouched and hidden in Nicholas’ closet made me think back to when I was a little girl, eavesdropping on the conversations my sisters had with friends and boyfriends. I was more interested in learning combat and survival skills than the girly stuff Winter and Summer liked and staying undiscovered while spying on them was the best way to train.

Nicholas was about to face danger, and I hid in the closet like some coward. He had pleaded for me not to intervene in his ...