“It’s French,” Warner says, bored. “It literally means already seen.”
“Wait, so then I do know what it means.”
“That you know what anything means is astonishing to me.”
Before I have a chance to defend myself, Nazeera’s voice carries over from the cockpit.
“Hey,” she calls. “Are you guys being friends again?”
I hear the familiar click and slide of metal—a sound that means Nazeera is unbuckling herself from pilot mode. Every once in a while she puts the plane on cruise control （or whatever） and makes her way over to me. But it’s been at least half an hour since her last break, and I’ve missed her.
She folds herself into the chair next to me.
I beam at her.
“I’m so glad you two are finally talking,” she says, sighing as she sinks into the seat. “The silence has been depressing.”
My smile dies.
Warner’s expression darkens.
“Listen,” she says, looking at Warner. “I know this whole thing is horrible—that the very reason we’re on this plane is horrible—but you have to stop being like this. We have, like, thirty minutes left on this flight, which means we’re about to go out there, together, to do something huge. Which means we all have to get on the same page. We have to be able to trust each other and work together. If we don’t, or if you don’t let us, we could end up losing everything.”
When Warner says nothing, Nazeera sighs again.
“I don’t care what Nouria thinks,” she says, trying for a gentle tone. “We’re not going to lose Ella.”
“You don’t understand,” Warner says quietly. He’s still not looking at us. “I’ve already lost her.”
“You don’t know that,” Nazeera says forcefully. “Ella might still be alive. We can still turn this around.”
Warner shakes his head. “She was different even before she was taken,” he says. “Something had changed inside of her, and I don’t know what it was, but I could feel it. I’ve always been able to feel her—I’ve always been able to sense her energy—and she wasn’t the same. Emmaline did something to her, changed something inside of her. I have no idea what she’s going to be like when I see her again. If I see her again.” He stares out the window. “But I’m here because I can do nothing else. Because this is the only way forward.”
And then, even though I know it’s going to piss him off, I say to Nazeera:
“Warner and J were engaged.”
“What?” Nazeera stills. Her eyes go wide. Super wide. Wider than the plane. Her eyes go so wide they basically fill the sky. “When? How? Why did no one tell me?”
“I told you that in confidence,” Warner says sharply, shooting me a glare.
“I know.” I shrug. “But Nazeera’s right. We’re a team now, whether you like it or not, and we should get all of this out in the open. Air it out.”
“Out in the open? What about the fact that you and Nazeera are in a relationship that you never bothered mentioning?”
“Hey,” I say, “I was going t—”
“Wait. Wait.” Nazeera cuts me off. She holds up her hands. “Why are we changing the subject? Warner, engaged! Oh my God, this is— This is so good. This is a big deal, it could give us a per—”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” I turn, frown at her. “We all knew this kind of thing was coming. The two of them are basically destined to be together, even I can admit that.” I tilt my head, considering. “I mean, true, I think they’re a little young, but—”
Nazeera is shaking her head. “No. No. That’s not what I’m talking about. I don’t care about the actual engagement.” She stops, glances up at Warner. “I mean—um, congratulations and everything.”
Warner looks beyond annoyed.
“I just mean that this reminded me of something. Something so good. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. God, it would give us the perfect edge.”
“What would?”
But Nazeera is out of her chair, stalking over to Warner and, cautiously, I follow. “Do you remember,” she says to him, “when you and Lena were together?”
Warner shoots Nazeera a venomous look and says, with dramatic iciness, “I’d really rather not.”
Nazeera waves away his statement with her hand. “Well, I remember. I remember a lot more than I should, probably, because Lena used to complain to me about your relationship all the time. And I remember, specifically, how much your dad and her mom wanted you guys to, like, I don’t know— promise yourselves to each other for the foreseeable future, for the protection of the movement—”