As Solara lifted her throbbing head, her neck and back muscles blazed with the heat of an inferno. She flattened herself to the ground and took shallow breaths to work through the pain. Her wrists, lying close to her face, were red and raw with burn marks. Her eyes fought a burning itch to stay open. A large man-shaped lump lay beside her and another was hunched over on a bench in the dark-walled room. Thin strands of light trickled through a small bar-covered window above them. After she closed her eyes, the stink of garbage and echo of slapping feet on wooden sandals meant they hadn't left the centre of Lower-Caldozza.

She tensed. Would they die here or be dragged up to Upper-Caldozza for a public execution?

"Ru," Solara called through her scratchy throat.

"The traitor is still out cold. Should buy us time to get our story straight and escape this horrible mess."

Solara's ribs ached as she exhaled. Perhaps staying still and quiet would convince him she passed out again or was just moaning in a fever dream.

The thwack of sandals on stone reverberated through the cell as the steps grew closer. Her chest throbbed with each rapid breath through pursed lips. It wasn't fair to die when she'd hardly lived, not through anything worthwhile. She'd been too busy processing everyone else's experiences to have memorable ones of her own.

A stone-faced man with bruises under his eyes stood at the metal-gated door. His gait and face looked vaguely familiar in Solara's hazy vision. As keys jangled, Ernesito groaned, and he rocked to a sitting position on the bench. "There's been a mistake," his hoarse voice croaked. "You must let us out of here."

The man chuckled. "I hear how badly you three faired. My family can't afford my death." That gentle voice...

"Mr. Benito," Solara strained through a sandpaper throat.

His shoulders straightened, and he looked behind his head darted in all directions. "Ms. Fumera! What are you doing here?"

"We were investigating a break-in at my friend's home, and we found a precious Upper artifact."

"You should be careful. The people who brought you here are cold and brash."

"Are they still here?"

Mr. Benito looked over his shoulder again. "They said to have you ready for 2 o'clock." He glanced at his wrist. "In thirty minutes. They didn't wish to stay overnight."

Ernesito dragged himself to the door, sending Mr. Benito a few steps back. Her ex's left foot didn't move with the rest of his body. After Solara wiggled her fingers and toes, she relaxed, finding them all following her brain's command.

"I will give you ten thousand dozis to free us."

"I cannot risk my family's lives."

"Ten thousand each." He nodded toward Solara. "Tell them we died, and you disposed of our bodies. Let them have the traitor."

When Mr. Benito sought Solara's gaze, she shook her head. She couldn't live knowing someone had paid for her freedom in blood.

She turned to Ernesito. "We don't know what they want yet."

"What they want? Don't be naïve, Lara. They'll skin us alive in front of our people and harvest the unedited memories from the spectators. They have the amulet. What else could they want besides vengeance?"

As his body twitched into consciousness, Runan groaned on the ground. From the multiple moans, he couldn't have fared much better than her or Ernesito. She ran a hand along his back.

"Solara?" he rasped.

She tapped his shoulder. "Right, here."

He tried to turn toward her but cried out in pain. A bloody patch near his shoulder caught her eye. "You're hurt. What happened?"

"I don't know. Are you all right? I heard you scream."

The panic in his voice made her cheeks flush. "It was silly. They were trying to move Ernesito and me into the hovercrafts, but they wouldn't respond when I asked if you were coming. Then they shocked me."

A wooden door closed near the stairwell, and a man in a blue protective suit stepped out. His voice came out at a higher, more natural pitch than yesterday. "You would feel much better if you'd listened to our simple instructions."

Ernesito's hands gripped the metal bars, and they shook.

"I'll take those two with me," the suited man motioned to Runan and Solara. "Leave this one for the next crew." A crooked smile emerged on the officer's lips as he regarded Mr. Benito. "You'll find suggesting freedom brings out a person's true nature."

Ernesito sneered at Runan. "How can you determine his nature? He was unconscious."

"I determined it earlier."

"He's a liar. He roped us into a scheme to steal his dead sister's memories!"

Runan tensed. As her palms pushed into the icy floor, Solara's eyes narrowed on her selfish ex.

"What you Lowers do in your spare time is of minor concern to us." The man walked up the stone staircase.

"His sister is Mes—"

"Enough!" Solara yelled and cringed a second later.

The commotion redirected the Upper's course and refocused his attention on Runan. "Who is your sister?"

Moaning and groaning, Runan slowly lifted himself from the floor. "Messita Zaridi."

His eyebrows raised, and his hairless lip twitched. "Messita Zaridi, the famous creator? What business do you have with her memories?"

"She left them to me, but Mem-Stem refuses to release her body. I don't want to sell or keep them. I need to know what happened the day she died to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else." When he grimaced as if in pain, Solara's heart ached.

The officer tapped at the watch on his wrist. "You'll resume after we've finished questioning you and only if you are innocent."

With a groan, Runan straightened his back. "I only have until Friday."

The officer looked up from his watch. "You should have considered that before you stole the amulet."

"It appeared on the bed, I swear."

"Of its many powers, teleportation is not one of them."

"Mem-Stem could be framing me so I can never see those memories." Runan's voice was hurried and desperate.

The Upper man laughed. "They were wrong about you Lowers. You do have a sense of humour." He turned to Mr. Benito. "Get them both up to the ship. If they try to flee, incapacitate with whatever barbaric methods your people use."

Mr. Benito pulled out a pair of regular handcuffs, attaching one to Ernesto's wrist and the other to the thick metal gate. Ernesito rattled the shackles when Mr. Benito swung the door open. The guard nodded to Solara. After she helped Runan stand, they hobbled to the door. As Mr. Benito assisted her friend up the stairs with slow progress, she waited.

Ernesito clung onto her arm and pulled her close. "Lara, don't let them do this to me. Say something, make a deal!"

She couldn't meet his eyes. His involvement was her fault. She'd been vague about her reasons to exploit his lingering feelings. His actions had gotten Ju'rah back to his home, and he'd even tried to include her in his terrible bribery attempt earlier.

Turning to the Upper guard, she called out, "You'll need all three of us to get an accurate picture. You may not trust him, but you can trust his memories."

"He'll be processed separately," the Upper said dryly.

Solara placed her hand over his free one. "Nesito, I'm sorry. They may be reasonable if you tell the truth and allow them to search your memories."

"They'll learn you corrupted a man's mind."

She inhaled a shaky breath and repeated the mantra that kept her from tearing out her hair. "He asked to keep going when I warned him to stop. You saw it. These people only care about the amulet."

"Lara, you can't do this to me!" His arm pulled her toward his chest and restricted her movements. "Anywhere you take her, you take me," he shouted up the staircase.

Solara tried to wiggle free, but Ernesito tightened his grip, pressing her face into his chest. "Nesito, stop!" She stiffened. How could he use her as a bargaining chip?

"Let her go!" Runan bellowed. Footsteps stopped in their tracks followed by a moan.

"Free the girl. Your life is insignificant to me," the Upper said.

"I'm a respected memory technology specialist."

"Lower technology is a joke. Let the woman go."

"Take me with you."

"I don't have time for this."

A high-pitched snap echoed down the narrow stairwell. Ernesito jerked back, and warm droplets land on her face and arms. A guttural groan roared through his chest. Solara broke free and dashed past the gate, daring to look back when he was out of reach. His shoulder blossomed in deep crimson, a few shades darker than the one sprayed over her skin and clothes. Wrapping her shaking arms around her torso, Solara resisted the urge to vomit.

"Nesito..." her voice trembled, and she retraced her steps to her ex who slid down the bars. He was still conscious but grimaced as the handcuffed hand above his head kept him from sitting.

"Take him to a local memory specialist and get what you can," the gunman said.

Mr. Benito cleared his throat and stepped closer to Solara. "Sir, Ms. Fumera is—"

"No, we need these two in Upper Caldozza urgently."

Solara put her hands on Ernesito's clammy face. "We can't leave him like this."

"You will come conscious or unconscious. You have ten seconds to decide," the Upper said.

Mr. Benito leaned closer to Solara to whisper, "I will get help. The quicker you go, the better his odds."

"Nesito, I'm sorry." Solara hugged his unaffected side. "You can trust Mr. Benito."

Her ex's eyes narrowed. "Your word holds little value now."

"I'll shoot him again if I have to," the Upper yelled.

Mr. Benito pulled Solara away as tears trailed down her cheeks. "He will be okay."

"Hurry up! The royal family is waiting for them in Upper Caldozza."

Solara's body chilled, every droplet of blood singing her skin. Maybe Ernesito got a better fate. Anyone she knew with a slight association with the Uppers feared their detached natures. A cruel and unjust punishment awaited her and Runan.