4. Return of the Owl
Mina
I leaned into my looming disappointment. “We’re not going to save Ben, are we?”
“Oh, that we are,” said Dad, with an odd emphasis on we. “But I would be remiss not to point out a certain other strategic opportunity that’s presently in danger of passing us by.”
“What opportunity?”
Dad turned his gaze on Aldo. “The opportunity to continue cultivating advance knowledge of the Slivers’ plans and movements.”
Aldo understood before I did, the fresh warmth draining out of his face, along with all its color.
“Not worth the risk,” I said.
“You did say your mother told you you’d be rejected if you tried to rejoin the Network,” Dad said evenly.
“...Yes,” Aldo acknowledged.
“And the ease of your escape suggests, to me at least, that she believed it to be more than a
