Excerpt from We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Mejia, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Nice performance back there," said the boy, closing the door behind him. "Even I almost believed you." His face transformed in the dark of the closet. From stoic and soldierly, he was suddenly foxlike, all sharp angles and mischief.

"I don't know what you—" Dani began.

"Save it," he said. "We don't have much time."

And with that, he took Dani's papers, the hard-won key to her whole life, and tore them cleanly in half.

2

Analysis and logic are a Primera's greatest tools, irrationality her greatest enemy. There is no room for emotion in her decision-making.

THE MEDIC-WHO-WAS-NOT-A-MEDIC stood still, gauging Dani's reaction.

On the outside, she was frozen, but inside her, whole cities were being razed to the ground. Explosions were shaking the walls of her stomach. People were screaming in her throat.

"Let me explain," he said, looking almost sheepish.

"You ... ," Dani spluttered. "I ..."

"It's not what you think."

"It better not be," Dani replied, finally finding her voice. What had she learned every day in this place, if not how to handle herself in any circumstance? Dani pushed every feather of panic deep into herself and summoned all the authority she had. "Because you are clearly not military," she said. "Now, you have about ten seconds before I start screaming that there's an intruder here holding me against my will."

She expected an instant reaction, and she was disappointed. The boy's smirk only grew more pronounced. "Oh?" he asked. "And what will you do when they come?" He tapped his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Sure, they won't be thrilled with me, but I'm sure they'll at least investigate my claims before hauling me off."

Dani felt her expression hardening. She let it. She did not scream.

"You know, the claims about the star Primera student with forged papers?" He brandished the shabby things at her, the tear down the center adding insult to injury. "The one who was about to be placed with a seriously decorated government family?" He shook his head sadly. "I don't imagine they'll be very happy with you at all."

"Who are you?" Dani asked through gritted teeth. "And why are you trying to ruin my life?"

"Relax," the boy said, rolling his eyes. "These things were useless the moment you walked through the oratory doors. The new verification system would have proven they were fakes in about a second." He paused, like he was waiting for her to ask. "It's a pen," he continued when she didn't. "On the special stationery the government issues ID papers with, it turns blue. On the peasant stuff, red. Pretty genius, really. So simple. It reacts to a fiber used in the printing process that—"

"Who are you?" Dani growled again, interrupting. She hardly cared about the particulars of paper fiber when she was one misstep from handcuffs and a prison transport.

"Right, of course." The boy placed the torn papers inside his jacket, sticking out a hand.

Dani looked at it like it was a venomous snake until he withdrew it.

"You can call me Sota," he said. "I'm a member of La Voz, and I'm here to deliver these." From the same pocket where he'd stuffed Dani's forged documents came a set of new ones, the paper gleaming blue-white even in the dark closet. She caught a glimpse of her name, printed neatly below Medio's official seal.

"Forget it," she said, crossing her arms. Her palms were sweating against the sleeves of her dress. She could feel her quickening pulse along every inch of her skin. "I'm not taking anything from you."

La Voz was a name you whispered. Public enemy number one on the right side of the border wall. They were responsible for the riots Dani had heard about since she could remember. The fires. The dead officers. The violence. Being caught talking to a known member was good for a prison sentence, even if all you did was ask for the time.

Excerpted from We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Mejia. Copyright © 2019 by Tehlor Mejia. Excerpted by permission of Katherine Tegan Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.