Antonio doesn’t say a word as we descend. Every foul scent imaginable turns beneath our feet. Our movement stirs it all up, and before long I’m hacking coughs. Antonio just keeps moving through the labyrinth like he’s walked this path a hundred times. I’m still coughing when the darkness ends. Antonio climbs a ladder and I follow.

Another hatch opens into a wine cellar. The place is bright with light. Ten men and women stand there waiting for us. They’re bunched together, whispering, but at the sight of Antonio, everyone straightens. They line up, set their jaws, and wait for him to speak.

“Take a good long look, kid.”

I do. There’s a little bit of everything. Six are Dividian. Four are women. One’s an Ashlord, which sits uncomfortably in my gut. He styles his hair in a faux-hawk, but he’s a little old for the look. Next to him, a pair of Longhands grin out from among the rows of shining, corked bottles. I take time to look at each face, to memorize each detail. Freckles on noses, hats on heads, and all the little nooks every face has.

These are Daddy’s people, which makes them my people.

“This is your extraction team.” Antonio gestures at the standing group. “If something goes wrong or if something happens, you are to trust only these ten faces. You might have some smooth talker come up to you at the pre-event galas. Or after your victory. Whatever. If their face isn’t in this room right now, you do not trust them. The only people worthy of your trust over the next few weeks are these ten faces.”

Antonio points to the Dividian on the far right.

“Quay,” the man says.

And the next.

“Elizabeth.”

“Darby.”

“Atl.”

He works down the row, then asks me to repeat each name. When I can’t, he has each person say their names a second time. This time I pay attention and when he asks, I can repeat them easily. But Antonio’s careful, because Daddy’s taught him how to be. He has the group say their names a third time, then shuffles the order.

I go down the new row and nail every single one. Then Antonio turns me around. He has them all say the word freedom. Without looking, I’m supposed to identify them by their voices. I get a handful right, but Antonio turns me back around, has them say their names and listen to their voices before running me back through it again.