“I don’t know,” Wolf said gently. “I do know, though, that I lost track of Sora before and she ended up all right. Broomstick lost track of you, too, remember?”

Fairy gave Daemon a flat stare. “Yes, because I was drugged to a deathlike state of unconsciousness.”

“You weren’t dead, though.”

“I could have been!” Fairy threw her arms in the air.

“He’s . . .” Wolf shook his head. “He’s got to be alive. I’d know it if he weren’t. Sora would send me some hint of it through our bond.”

Fairy paced some more. She understood the logic of what Wolf was saying, but it didn’t make being here—away from her gemina—any easier. What was she supposed to do? Just sit around and wait until Sora sent them another messenger? Or until there was complete emptiness in her connection? Warriors who had lost their geminas described the feeling as a boulder slamming their bond shut, a heavy finality when there was no longer someone else on the other end. That’s not what she sensed now, but it was eerily silent, as if she was walking through an abandoned corridor that might lead to that boulder.

“We have to go to them.” She marched toward their meager camp.

“What?” Wolf trailed behind her. “We’re supposed to stay here and keep searching the Imperial City for Empress Aki. And we’re still waiting to get a response from my brother.” They’d been trying to reach Liga ever since they returned from the Dragon Prince’s study but to no avail.

Fairy whirled on him. “The empress isn’t here, all right? We’ve spent days crawling through the castle and the Citadel and haven’t found a trace of her. For all we know, Prince Gin already killed her. But my gemina—our friend—isn’t dead yet, and we need to help him!”

Wolf stopped short. He looked guiltily at his feet. “You’re right. We’re supposed to be there for each other.”

He closed the distance between himself and Fairy and held open his arms. This time, she let him hold her. She buried her face in his chest and allowed the fear to hit her fully, tears streaming down her cheeks. “What if Broomstick isn’t all right? What if he dies and I wasn’t there for him?” she said.

“Shh.” Wolf stroked her hair. “He’s not going to die. And we’ll fly to Naimo Ice Caves as soon as we’re packed.”