Ethan stood by the window, staring out at the gray morning sky. The Custodian Protocol was destroyed. Helena Vance was dead. The war they'd been fighting for months was finally over. But instead of relief, Ethan felt something else. Something he couldn't quite name.
Kate appeared beside him, her hand on his arm. "You've been standing there for hours."
"Have I?"
"Since we got back." She studied his face, her eyes searching. "What are you thinking about?"
Ethan was silent for a long moment. Then he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "I keep thinking about what Helena said. About humanity being broken. About needing to be saved."
"Ethan—"
"I know she was wrong. I know what she was doing was evil. But sometimes, I wonder. Look at the world, Kate. The wars, the corruption, the suffe
