For a moment no one spoke.
Then Lirem said, <Young Aximili, your brother Elfangor is a hero. The people need heroes in this endless war. I do not wish to tell the people that in the end, Elfangor broke the laws. There can be no forgiveness for a prince that breaks the laws. Unlike an aristh. So… I ask you to think again. Was it truly Elfangor who gave this technology to the humans?>
I couldn’t believe what Lirem wanted me to say. He wanted me to lie. He wanted me to clear Elfangor.
<I… I was wrong when I said Elfangor did this,> I said, too shocked to argue. <It was… it was me. I gave the humans the morphing technology.>
Lirem continued. <Cut off from your prince, alone, not yet trained, not yet a true warrior, you broke the laws, aristh Aximili. Is this true?>
<Yes,> I whispered bitterly.
—
Animorphs, book 8: a terrified kid Finds An Adult, only for that adult to force him to take the fall for his dead brother’s unpardonable crimes, and then tell him that his rescue is so low-priority that they might get around to it in like a year.
Fun sci-fi adventures for middle grade readers!!!