Ender ran a hand through his hair as his mom yelled at him, sighing. "But mom-"
Cadence shook her head and interrupted, "I don't want to hear excuses, Enderen Dragon Ramira! You listen to me! You are going to go back and apologize to Arcadia this instant, young man!"
"I can't, mom-" Ender tried.
Cadence gave him a look. "You can't?! You can't, or you won't?"
"Mom, I'm going to tell you something, and you can't tell anyone, or...or something bad will happen," Ender said quietly.
Cadence frowned. "Ender, what's wrong?"
Ender sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "If I don't stay away from her, Teresa will destroy Amory. And besides that, apparently there's someone close enough to get Chloe and Oliver too. Arcadia's lost me before... She's used to me being an idiot. It breaks my heart to leave her, but she'll be okay. I'll just be the stupid alien boy who broke her heart... One thing she never recovered from was losing Chloe. And Amory... I can't imagine how much that would hurt my brother and Clem... And Oliver's at risk too. I can't..." He trailed off and sighed. "Mom, I had to hurt Arcadia to protect her and our family. As long as she runs around abusing her power without check, I'm a prisoner to her twisted games. We're all just pawns to her. She controls and manipulates so easily, like she's always done it... And mom, I've always hated that I wasn't more powerful. I'm just... I'm not on their level. There's nothing I can do but take part in her games. It's not fair. But the stakes for trying to defy her are too high to justify trying... The best thing I can do for Arcadia, Oliver, and my family is to leave and stay far away, playing Teresa's games and hoping, just hoping, that someone will stop her. Someone who's stronger than me... Because it turns out after all my training, I'll never be as strong as them."
Cadence wiped away her tears and pulled him into a tight hug. "Ender...oh, I'm sorry, son... I had no idea..."
Ender sighed and hugged back. "I don't blame you, mom... It's fine. You just can't tell anyone, okay?"
Cadence sniffed and nodded, pulling away. "I won't. I can't imagine little Am - or any of them - getting hurt... In the meantime, I'm sure Celeste would like to see her little brother?"
Ender sighed. "I definitely can't tell her, so I'll just say I'm visiting..."
Cadence nodded. "I know you're upset, but... At least try to enjoy your time home."
Ender sighed. "Thanks mom, but this isn't my home anymore."
He walked out.
