The fire lit Sunji’s lower districts as people poured into the streets in scattered waves. Some of the people clutched sacks stretched thin at the seams, trying to carry more than they should. A pot broke somewhere behind her, and the sharp crack blended with the shouting. Meanwhile, names were called out, instructions were shouted, and curses were thrown into the air.

  And in the middle of it, she saw the girl again.

  Amy watched her kneel beside a collapsed woman near a doorway. She watched as the girl checked her pulse, calm even as people bumped past. In seconds, she woke the woman up and guided her two children to their feet.

  “Help your mother follow the crowd out of here.”

  The children nodded and followed her instruction without question. She pointed them toward a clearer path, before scanning the crowd for whoever needed help next. She didn’t try to comfort anyone or draw attention. She just stepped in, solved what she could, and never asking for thanks.

  Princessa stumbled behind Amy, coughing into her sleeve. “Amy—please—slow down. I can’t breathe in this.”

  Amy touched her arm briefly to steady her, but her focus stayed on the girl. Aurora would have analyzed every movement. Mel would already have known the outcome before they took a step. But Amy found herself drifting mysteriously toward one person instead.

  The girl had already stopped a man carrying two heavy sacks that dragged at his posture. She said something Amy couldn’t hear and pointed down a safer slope, and when he hesitated, she simply stayed in front of him until he changed direction. She didn’t bark orders or plead. Amy saw how people adjusted just because she did.

  A shout cut through the crowd that was sharper than the rest.

  “Make way! Move aside!”

  Amy’s stomach dropped as she whipped around.

  Three Sunji guards forced their way into the alley, shoving aside anyone who didn’t move fast enough. One nearly slipped on a broken piece of pottery, pushed someone, and recovered with a curse.

  Thinking of the girl, Amy watched the guards, narrowing her eyes.

  “There!” one guard shouted, pointing at anyone carrying anything heavier than clothing.

  The girl stiffened, eyes darting around with hopeless calculation. She was trapped.

  But remembering Aurora, Amy grabbed a metal tray from the debris, dragged it to make it screech, then threw it into a narrow side alley where there was lots of smoke. And, as expected, the tray bounced and clattered loudly. Two guards immediately ran toward the sound. The third hesitated, his gaze landing on Amy’s clothes. It was too fine for this part of Sunji, but someone called his name, and he followed the others.

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  Amy let out a long breath as her pulse hammered in her throat.

  Princessa stared at her. “Amy—what were you thinking? They could’ve seen you!”

  “Probably,” Amy said, her voice unsteady. “But I had to try. And Aurora taught me that noise can be useful.”

  Princessa didn’t look convinced, but Amy had already turned back.

  The girl stood in the middle of the alley, watching her.

  This time they locked eyes.

  Amy froze under her gaze. The girl’s eyes were a dark, steady color that didn’t flicker in the firelight. She took a few steps toward Amy, her movements cautious but sure.

  “You pulled them off me,” the girl said. “Why?”

  Amy wished she had prepared an answer. Something about the girl made her mouth feel dry. “Because you were helping people. You didn’t deserve to be...” Her thoughts drifted to the torture plaza with Mel.

  The girl studied her carefully.

  Amy’s eyes fell to the girl’s arm. “You’re bleeding.”

  The girl glanced at the cut as if seeing it for the first time. “Oh… It’s nothing. Others have worse.”

  A horn sounded deeper in the district. The girl’s posture shifted immediately.

  “I have to go.”

  “By yourself?” Amy asked, thinking about the chaos ahead. The guards. Mel’s plaza. She stepped closer before she realized she was doing it. “Wait.”

  The girl paused, and Amy could see the exhaustion in her eyes now.

  “What’s your name?” Amy asked.

  The girl hesitated. “…Esmie.”

  “I’m Amy.”

  Another horn sounded, closer.

  “I need to keep moving,” Esmie said. “People are running out of time.”

  “It’s dangerous,” Amy said. “You could get hurt.”

  “So could they.” Esmie replied. “Look, you have to get out of here.”

  Amy swallowed, her throat tight. “No, I won’t. I want to help.”

  Esmie’s eyes flicked to Amy’s clothes again with slight suspicion. “It’s not your fight.”

  “I know this looks like… I’m not with them,” Amy said quickly. “I wouldn’t have distracted the guards if I were.”

  The girl’s eyes narrowed, calculating the truth behind Amy’s words.

  Amy took a breath. “Look. I don’t know where I’m supposed to be right now. But you’re helping people and I feel like following you is where I’m supposed to be.”

  Esmie shook her head. “I may look like a leader, but I’m not. The people need help and I just don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. So I just keep going.”

  “I understand that,” Amy said, voice dropping. “Trust me.”

  For the first time, Esmie’s eyes softened, sad. “I hope, for your sake, that’s not true.”

  She took a few steps, then paused.

  “Amy,” Esmie said. And for some reason Amy’s heart skipped a beat. “If you slow me down, I’ll have to leave you behind.”

  “I understand,” Amy said. “But I won’t. I don’t know how I know, but I’m sure of that.”

  Esmie nodded once and walked into the smoke.

  Princessa grabbed Amy’s sleeve. “Amy… We don’t know what this girl is doing.”

  Amy watched Esmie’s silhouette disappear through the haze, the fire reflecting faintly off her shoulders.

  “I go where she goes,” she said quietly.

  “You don’t even know her,” Princessa whispered.

  “I don’t,” Amy agreed. “But going back feels wrong. And following her feels right.”

  She moved forward without waiting for permission from anyone. Not Samantha, not Aurora, not Mel. She stepped into the smoke, more confident than ever. Cerceras and Milo’s whispers were nowhere. Her thoughts were clear.