Audra doesn't take us to the same room where we met Father Paul before; instead, this room is huge and open with a glass ceiling to let in light from the dome. Hayl, Ryke, Elz, Orrick, and Tali stand in the center of the room with an arced dais in front of them.

Seven men sit at a moon-shaped table on the dais, each with an ornate seat of bright red. The men wear the fine black clothing that set the Father and Mother apart when we first met them. Father Paul with his strong jaw and silvering hair sits at the center of the seven with three men on either side of him and his arms resting on the table. Mother Greer stands behind him in the shadows, her beautiful face icy. Father Paul's eyes rush to us as we enter, and I can see the similarities between him and Luk in the sharp features and bright eyes. However, where Luk is soft and kind, Paul is hard and cruel behind his expression of concern.

"Welcome to the Patriarchy," he declares in a booming voice that echoes through the spacious room. "Please, join your comrades in front of us."

Audra remains on the edge of the room as Luk and I join our friends, and my eyes catch on the armed guards that line the room. Paul not only distrusts us, but he considers us a dangerous threat. I'm not sure what harm he thinks a malnourished gang of Outsiders can do, but his fear is our weapon. I can use his fear against him when I bargain for Ila's life and our safety.

"I see you are all recovered," Paul says, his eyes coming to rest on me.

My illness has kept me hospitalized and unable to provide the list of dosages and ingredients they need to recreate the cure, but now that I've recovered, there's nothing to stop Domus and Father Paul from extricating the knowledge they need from me and saving their children.

"We are." Luk steps in front of me and the others to speak on our behalf. Paul's face twitches at Luk's leadership, his own son now standing against him.

"These six men sitting on either side of me are the Patriarchy," Paul explains, opening his arms to gesture to the men. They are all middle aged or older with austere countenances and sharp, curious eyes. "They comprise our government with myself as the Father. My Brothers are faithful advocates of Domus's goal of Family Before All. This is why we are so saddened by what your Civilization has done to our children, the very heart of our society."

Father Paul's upper lip curls as he says these words, grimacing at us. Despite our role in saving their kids, he still holds us responsible. We're civilians, so he hates us. Is his hatred only because of the Civilization's cruelty to the Domans children or does the hatred between Father Paul and the Civilization run even deeper?

"As you know, your Civilization inflicted a terrible cruelty on Domus which shall not be forgotten or left unavenged." His words make me go cold. Revenge? What sort of revenge does he have planned? I know enough of his character to realize the threat is not empty. "Though you have shown particular bravery in going against your Civilization to save our children, which we do acknowledge, you must understand that anyone from outside of Domus is suspect. We can't afford to trust anyone, no matter how great your heroism. I trust that none of you were involved in these horrific events, but still you shall remain guarded until such a time as we can trust you."

I train my eyes on Father Paul to keep from looking at Ryke. Not only was he involved in kidnapping the Domus children, but he masterminded the entire plot. If Father Paul finds out, Ryke's punishment will be much worse than being disowned. The ire in Paul's eyes betrays a rage that would tear Ryke limb from limb. For a moment, I consider turning Ryke over to them in case they somehow discover his betrayal and we're condemned as guilty for concealing his wrongdoings, but in spite of Ryke's misdeeds, I can't. I can't afford to have any more blood on my hands.

"Now," Father Paul says, pressing his fingers together into a triangle. "I understand you have the information that will allow us to create a cure for this memory destruction serum."

I trade a quick glance with Hayl, and her dark eyes are wide. We have no certainty that Hayl's antidote will work even with the last-minute revisions we were unable to test on Ila. I just have to trust that Hayl's skills as a Scientist are as good as she claims and that my memory is undamaged.

Father Paul grows impatient at our hesitation and thrums his fingers on the table. "I believe I have provided adequate time for your recovery," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "The fate of our children depends on you."

Luk doesn't look back at me and Hayl and our doubtful hope that we can somehow contrive a way to save the memories of all these children. Instead, he says, "We are willing to work with you, but we have conditions."

Father Paul studies his son for a tense moment and the Patriarchy watch the exchange with anxious whispers. Finally, Paul throws back his head and laughs, the sound echoing to the glass ceiling of the high room. "Conditions?" he says with a chuckle. "We could have you all shot right now and no one would care. You are in no place to make conditions."

"Actually, we are," Luk says. "We're the only ones who know all the ingredients for the cure, so we hold the power here."

Father Paul sneers, his handsome face ugly with the expression. "You have no power."

"We do, and you know it. We have the list of ingredients, and we won't turn it over until you agree to our requests."

Father Paul takes on a look of mock sincerity. "You would endanger the lives of hundreds of children including your very own daughter, just for your own safety?"

A few of the Brothers laugh mockingly. "That's one of the conditions," Luk says, his voice calm despite his anger. "That the cure is given to Ila before anyone else."

Luk's words silence them, and Father Paul's face turns red. I almost laugh as he realizes that we do have some power here. He can't refuse Luk's compassionate request without painting himself a monster; Luk has him cornered, and Father Paul grinds his teeth together.

"I know she's the one who knows the ingredients," Father Paul says, extending a finger towards me.

Luk steps in front of me, shielding me from his father. "We won't turn over the information until you agree to our demands," Luk repeats.

"I have ways of extricating information," Father Paul says, pronouncing each word slowly. Panic starts to lace my bloodstream and block my vision. No. I can't go through torture--not again. I've survived twice, but I've also never been weaker than I am now.

But when Luk looks at me with a desperate, imploring gaze, I can't say no. After everything I've done to him and all the pain I've caused, I can't let him lose Ila when I can save her. Father Paul is afraid of us, and I can use that to my advantage. I step past Luk and use my crutches to limp to the dais where Father Paul and his compatriots sit.

"I just so happen to be quite skilled at withstanding interrogation," I say, my voice made of steel. "You will give Ila the cure first and promise us safe asylum here until we decide to leave, or I swear you'll have to kill me before I tell you anything."

"Ren, no," Luk whispers. I know this isn't what he intended when he asked me to save Ila, but I don't care. Luk chose Ila over me, and so I will too. Besides, death might come as a relief at this point.

A few of the men sneer at my words, but Father Paul stares at me with his head cocked to one side. I carry this guilt like a weight on my shoulder, and all I want is to get rid of it. Maybe if I save Ila, it will start to fade.

"I assure you, young civilian, that our methods are quite thorough."

I throw my head back and laugh. He can't do anything to me that Mizpah and the Civilizers haven't done already. They murdered my friends, forced me to kill people, tortured me and my friends in front of me. Anything Domus concocts will be child's play in comparison.

I reach for the neckline of my jumpsuit and pull it over my shoulder to reveal the scars on my chest, two sets overlapping where the electrodes were attached to me. "There's nothing you can do to me that the Civilization hasn't already done."

My words silence the room and the entire Patriarchy stares at the burn scars on my chest. They expected me to be a dyed-in-the-wool civilian, but I'm not. I'm an Underling, a Civilian, a rebel, and none of those things all at the same time.

Father Paul stares at the burned skin on my chest for a long moment. "And you know how to create the antidote?"

I don't blink as I lie. "Yes."

A tense moment passes and energy burns between me and Father Paul. He's going to give in, but he doesn't want to appear weak. For a brief second, I admire him. He's willing to sacrifice his dignity to save the children of Domus while I'm positioned as cruel for depriving them of salvation. If he seems weak, it's in the best possible way.

He bows his head, appearing like a man defeated. "Fine," he says. "If that's what I must do, I will consent to your terms." The Brothers nod grimly, and his weakness appears as strength. Father Paul has mastered the politics of Domus; it's probably how he's stayed in power for so long. "Still, you must compromise as well. My wife, Mother Greer, will supervise the creation of the cure. She's a renowned neurologist, as you already know, and I would trust her with my life."

She smiles at all of us, but there's something nasty in the dark gleam of her eyes as they alight on Luk. She must be his stepmother, but they only appear a few years apart.

"I'm happy to serve the family however I can, Father Paul," she says with a demure bow of her head.

"I know you are, my dear," he says with a condescending smile. "My other condition is that you are only permitted to stay here if you continue to abide by our rules and remain under guard when traversing Domus. This is as much for your safety as ours; our people may not look on you too kindly for your role in the demise of our youth. If you break this part of our agreement, you will be immediately disowned and forsake your safety here."

"Fine," Luk says, taking the attention away from me. My reckless confrontation of Father Paul has positioned me as our leader, but Luk is desperate to protect me. Still, Luk is a known risk while I'm completely unknown. I'm small and unimpressive, but I somehow hold the power to save their children, so I'm also an enigma.

"Very well. I will assign a laboratory for the creation of the antidote, and we will begin work immediately. Mother Greer, you will escort them?" he asks, and the Mother nods her head, soft hair falling around her face. Paul studies us for another long moment, and then his voice booms through the room. "This is your chance, young civilians, to be more than the offspring of your depraved Civilization and to distance yourself from their crimes. They have stolen our children from us, and this will not be left unavenged." Paul straightens his back, posing as the exultant leader rather than the humble father. "The Civilization will pay for what they've done."