The small vehicle raced through the tunnels, riding the sides and making sharp turns. The queen gripped the steering wheel and gritted her teeth.

"She drives just like her," Runan leaned over to whisper, legs shaking and grin on his lips.

Ernesito's fate still haunted her, interspersed with questions about how this was possible. Another option she wouldn't tell Runan yet was the queen stole his sister's memories and integrated them so well in her mind she seemed authentic. Bringing in her brother could be the ultimate way to test her success. She closed her eyes and pictured a river, calm and transparent.

"Are you okay, Sola?" he asked.

When she shook her head, his cuffed hands found hers. As much as his touch comforted her, it also led her to make selfish decisions like using Ernesito's talent without considering his wellbeing. Mr. Benito wouldn't have lied to her about Nesito's possible recovery, would he?

"Almost there. Prepare your explanations well, thieves. Liars don't stand in my kingdom. They free-fall."

Light poured in ahead. Seconds later, the car bounded out of the tunnel and onto a rocky mountainside ledge, winding along the cliffs. The vehicle jerked to a stop, then reversed into a hidden nook. They squeezed out of the door and followed the mountain path.

"Stay quiet," the queen commanded.

Runan stuck by Solara's side as if she were a wounded bird. As an itch settled on her flesh, she distanced herself on the narrow trail. They free climbed a rock face as they did as kids, practicing to reach Upper Caldozza. When they arrived at a wide ledge, the queen smiled. She undid their cuffs and gazed out at the sweeping, sunlit land below. "I'm surprised Ju'rah isn't with you."

Runan swallowed her small body in a hug. "Ita! You're alive." He ran his hands over her hair and stared into her eyes despite the obvious differences in their appearance. The queen had thin, hardened features, dramatic brows, colder eyes and thin lips. "Deep down, part of me knew you couldn't really be gone. But your body... your head." He stroked the side of hers, inspecting it. "I can't believe you're back!" He beamed like he had before his parents died.

The queen grinned and hugged him again. "It's good to see you too, Ru."

"Good doesn't cover it. This is like the dreams where we'd wake up to mom and dad getting up to farm, telling us their death was just a long, terrible nightmare. There are so many things I need to make up to you."

Tears formed in her eyes. "Later, Ru, we have more pressing matters. Was Ju'rah with you?"    

Runan met Solara's eyes as if pleading with her. He was so starved to have his sister back, he'd tell the woman anything whether it would get them in trouble or endanger Ju'rah or not. Solara shook her head. "He was too drunk to check on the break-in with us. We let him sleep it off."

The queen picked at her fingernails. "Three of you were apprehended."

"My ex was there too when we heard the alarm."

Silence settled over them until the queen's meek voice broke it. "Did Ju'rah think I died?"

"We all did, Ita," Runan spoke in a soft tone.

She pushed her hair away from the mass on her forehead. "I needed to bring you here without drawing suspicion to my altered state. I'll get Ju'rah to Upper-Caldozza somehow." She surveyed the Caldozzan plains with the hawk eyes Messita used when she schemed.

"How... is this even real?" Runan asked.

"The next trend in mem-tech is insertion. Clients love having their suggestions played out, but they want more control, to become another person, momentarily."

Runan's jaw dropped. "That's horrible! You lease your body and they do whatever they please?"

"Within reason, yes. I volunteered to be a test subject."

The crease in his forehead deepened. "Why?"

"It gave me an advantage, and we needed the money."

"Ita... I would have sold the farm. Nothing is—"

"It's done, Ru. In the trials, I discovered a flaw. Usually, they pushed our conscious minds to the side. We willingly submitted, so the risk to the client was negligible. Once, I thought they had woken me up after the procedure, but the room wasn't mine, nor was the body. It lasted a minute, and I told no one. After more experiments, I accessed other bodies by following similar instructions they gave the Uppers."

"Why would you want to?" Solara asked. She understood clients who took risks for their families, but Messita's memories were already worth a fortune. The endangerment wouldn't advance her career.

"You fight injustice by helping the poor." The queen turned to Runan. "By resisting the Upper's technological advantages. I saw my opportunity. The only person who can affect real change to way Uppers treat us is the ruler of them."

Solara swallowed the lump in her throat. A revolution would cost many lives, but Messita had always been rational and determined. It had to be worth it somehow, and she must be sincere. Solara and Runan never protested much against the system, so luring them into a trap was too illogical. This had to be Ita's work.

Runan closed his eyes and shook his head. "But your body... you have nowhere to return."

"The royal doctors are working on the real me now. Since I'm a beloved public figure, it's not too suspicious to keep my legacy alive. And no one's successfully revived a person so long after death. People are hungry to get their name on this accomplishment."

Another of Messita's strengths, understanding people's motives and how to use them to her advantage. A crow cawed in the distance, and it landed on a dead tree.

"What about the queen's mind?" Solara asked.

"She hasn't given me any grief. Either she perished with my body or she's submitted to my presence." The cold way the queen spoke made Solara's skin chill.

Runan gripped the rocky ledge. "What if bringing you back restores her mind, and she tries to hurt you?"

"That's why you're here. Once you're pardoned, you'll discover the queen has my body. Solara will help you make a public case of it with the Lower and Upper citizens. The Uppers can't withstand any doubt in the memory business right now with the other uses being developed."

Solara brushed sharp rocks near her palm off the cliff edge. "If we win and you're not revived, a burial will undo all their work."

"You're not meant to win, just to buy me enough time to plan a proper exposure of the Uppers' plans to use and rent our bodies, and the risks that could pose to our lives. I am the best example of the danger. Once chaos ensues, and get our people here, I'll reclaim my body."

Runan scratched his neck and frowned. "If you're discovered, they could kill you."

The queen sat tall against the rocky wall. "If I do nothing, the Lowers will be exploited like never before. Freedom has a price I'm willing to pay."

Both Zaridis were stubborn with rigid morals. He stared into the queen's eyes then down at his hands. "I'm sorry about everything, Ita. I've judged you unfairly for years, and underestimated you, and..."

Messita lifted his chin. "I don't need apologies. I need help. Sola, you've seen what people do to survive. The Uppers will keep suppressing our wages and locking up the protestors until we do nothing but cater to their whims. You know this business isn't what they advertised in the beginning."

Solara shifted the weight from her left leg to restore blood flow to the numb limb. The queen or Messita was right. It happened in her office every day. A man had asked to sell a disturbing sexual encounter with a young woman failing to escape his advance. Solara had stopped the procedure and kicked him out even though he claimed the woman was acting distressed and not in danger. The police she'd showed the clip to hadn't followed up as she'd only recorded the beginning and not the outcome despite the man having admitted his deed. They had to do better for their people, for all of these people. At least the harm she'd caused Ernesito would serve a greater good.

"I'm in," Solara said.

"Brother?" The queen's smile faltered, and her eyes widened.

Runan held the woman's hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. "I lost you once already, Ita. I'm scared it'll happen again."

"So am I. But I don't let fear control me. You do, and it hasn't worked for you." Her gaze darted to Solara for the briefest moment. Solara's heart raced, and she avoided looking at them. They didn't have time to both dig into those feelings and concoct a plan to overthrow the Uppers.

Solara ran her hand across his shoulders. "We're in it together, Ru. Think of the future you want. That you want for your kids someday."

"My kids?" As his brown eyes searched hers, her stomach flipped.

"What do you say, brother?"

"If it's the best way to keep you both safe, yes."

Solara released a shaky breath. Now she and Runan had to go up against angry Uppers who would hate them all while she pretended she wasn't as afraid of losing him as he feared losing Messita.