Alex looked at Sean. “I—I didn’t know her then.” He’d wondered about it, but Carina never spoke of the past or about the baby’s father, so Alex assumed she didn’t want to talk about it. Now Alex felt even more terrible.

“She’s a really strong person,” Sean said. “I admire her. I remember her from Quill—she’s just a few years ahead of me, you know. When she was Purged, she had this look on her face like she was going to get revenge on everybody one day.”

Alex laughed softly. “I believe that.”

“She’ll do it, too.”

Alex nodded.

“I remembered that when my name was announced. I wanted to be like her.”

“You are. In a lot of ways.”

Sean shrugged. “Thanks.”

The song played in Alex’s head during the silence that followed, and he recalled Carina’s parting words. “She said she didn’t think the dots were the islands.”

Sean was quiet for a long moment. “Well, she has really good instincts. She might be right.” He glanced at the wall, where two days, worth of effort stacking the creatures had gotten them nearly to the top of it. “I reckon I’ll continue the project, though.”

“Yes, definitely. We don’t have anything else to go on.”

Just then a face peeked up over the edge of the roof. Alex smiled. “Come on up,” he said. “We’re just talking.”

Sky climbed up and sat next to Alex. All three lay on their backs or rested on their elbows, staring at the night sky.

Sean frowned. “Do you think the dots . . .”

Alex looked at him. “What?”

Sean sat up, peering intently at the sky. “Do you think the dots are the stars?”

Sky sat up too.

Alex shook his head. “I thought about that. But the sky is always changing. The stars don’t stay in the same place all the time. So if we’re supposed to follow a line of stars, how would we know what time of night to do it, or what time of the year they would all line up in the right part of the sky?”

“Oh. Good point.” Sean sighed.

The Silent girl slumped.

“What if the dots weren’t actually, you know, outside?” Sean asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Are there any dots in the shack, like on the walls or anything?” Sean leaned back on his elbows.

“Not that I noticed. Believe me, I looked everywhere. I see dots swimming in front of my eyes constantly.”

Sky sat up again and stared out across the sea.

“Something in Artimé, maybe?”

Alex was quiet, considering that. He’d dismissed the idea once before, but now he couldn’t remember why. “I don’t know,” he mused. “Maybe. Like what?” He pictured the lounge, the theater, the mansion, the library. “Books could be dots, maybe.” But then he shook his head. “No, Mr. Today would be more clever with his clue if he meant books. Maybe there was something in his office.” Alex felt a sharp pang of sadness. “If Samheed were here,” he said, “he might remember.” But no one else remaining had ever set foot in Mr. Today’s office as far as Alex knew. Not even Mr. Appleblossom. It was depressing.

“What about the black-and-white tiles in the entrance to the mansion? Or statues in the hallways? Or—”

Alex slapped his forehead. “No. Now I remember why I don’t think the dots are inside Artimé. It’s because we can’t magnify or focus on anything that doesn’t exist. Which seems to be our biggest dead end.”

“Right,” Sean muttered. “Sorry. I’m not thinking straight.” They lapsed into their thoughts.

Sky closed her eyes, thinking hard. And then her lids popped open and she turned toward Alex and gripped his leg.

He looked at her, alarmed. “What is it?”

Her hands flew through the air, speaking a language Alex didn’t know.

“Whoa,” he said. “Slow down.”

But Sky wasn’t slowing. Her face was wildly animated, her golden-orange eyes bright, her actions exaggerated—all indicating that something very important was happening, but Alex couldn’t figure it out.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry, I can’t understand—” He bit his lip, frustrated, then glanced at Sean. “Any idea?” “No,” Sean said quietly, his eyes intent on the girl. “But now she’s getting frustrated with us.”

Sky rolled her eyes and gripped her hair, pulling her head down to her bent knees, shaking her head from side to side. Finally she sat up again and faced the two. She took a deep breath, and then calmly held up a hand, first to Alex, then to Sean. “Stay here?” Alex guessed.

The Silent girl nodded wildly.

“Okay,” Alex said, relieved to have gotten something right. “We’ll stay here.”

Sky pointed to herself, then pointed away, then pointed to herself again, then at the roof.

“She’s going to leave and come back,” Alex interpreted. “Right?” The Silent girl rewarded Alex with a beautiful smile that made his stomach flip. She touched her nose and pointed at him, nodding. And then, after one more reminder to the boys to stay put, she scrambled down Florence to the ground.

A Little Help

Sky returned a few minutes later, just as the eastern edge of the morning sky turned orange. She was carrying something on her shoulder, gripping it tightly with one hand as she maneuvered her way up the statue. Alex reached down to help her up.