The cold of the Serengeti night was different from the cold of the lab. Out here, the air was alive with the scent of wild sage and damp earth, but inside my chest, everything was frozen solid. I stood at the edge of the cliff, clutching Sasha to my side. The boy had fallen into a fitful sleep, his head resting against my hip, oblivious to the fact that his father the man I had spent years mourning was standing five feet away, looking at me like I was a stranger.
"Esther, please," Elias said, his voice trembling as he stepped toward me. "It’s not what you think. I had to join the Ministry’s shadow unit. It was the only way to get close enough to find where they hid you."
"Stay back," I snapped. The red light in my veins flickered, a warning sign that my patience was as thin as the mounta
