"Okay, now paranoia time." Kiley nods and keeps counting. "We know Mariella was brainwashed, and she got the key from a girl on the council, so what if that girl's brainwashed too? Now we've got someone who'd totally give the key to a boy, if you ordered her to. But that means Ronin's brainwashed too, because otherwise, why would our master have her give him the key?"