“Any sign of the Stubbs?” asked Fifer.

Rohan gave her a grim smile. “Asha overheard some of the dissenters say Frieda snuck out early and left Artimé. She abandoned them all.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” muttered Thisbe. She gripped a small screwdriver between her teeth, and she was using both hands to pry up a corner of the control panel. She wasn’t having any luck. “Time will tell.”

“And what about the tubes?” asked Fifer anxiously.

“Not good,” said Thisbe, looking up and pulling the screwdriver from her mouth. “It’s not just that the panel is broken. Everything inside is smashed and melted. There’s nothing we can do with this if we don’t have a complete replacement, and I’ve never heard of any extra parts being stored anywhere, have you?”

“No,” said Florence. “We’ve never needed them.”

“And even if we did have a replacement,” she said with a shake of her head, “none of us knows how to put it together. The only one who’s ever fixed a tube is trapped in one of the remote rooms.”

“I saw another… tube… in the kitchen,” Reza said hesitantly.

Fifer and Thisbe looked at him, then at each other. They knew that tube well from their younger years. But like the one in the head mage’s kitchenette, it had its own settings and rules for where it went. “Hmm,” said Fifer. “That one doesn’t run through these main tubes, though. I think it only has direct access to the living quarters for food delivery. Thisbe, do you remember if it also goes to the remote rooms?”

“I doubt it, but I’ll check,” said Thisbe. “I don’t remember ever using the room service tube for anything except sending food to individual rooms upstairs.” She slipped out of the main tube and ran to the kitchen, jumping over the debris that was scattered throughout the hallways. When she returned, her expression was grim. “That one has been smashed too. Only the tube in the head mage’s kitchenette is functioning.”

“Why did Frieda have to destroy everything?” muttered Florence. “It’s senseless! It didn’t work in her favor in any way. I can’t believe this mess—I honestly don’t know if we can ever repair these tubes.” For the first time since the mission began, Florence’s voice had become distressed. Everyone felt the same way—completely helpless. Their closest friends and family were trapped and wouldn’t last much longer without water.

“In the world I come from, places have at least two exits,” Kaylee said, feeling frustration boiling up. She knew that saying it couldn’t fix the situation now, but she was stressed out and worried about Aaron, and felt like she had to speak her mind. “Maybe that would be a good idea going forward. Magic or no, stuff breaks.” She frowned. “Sorry. I know that’s not helpful at this moment. I’m just… scared.” She tried not to let on how worried she was, but with the rumors flying that Aaron was one of the people in the library, she couldn’t help but agonize over the fact that nobody had thought of a situation where the tubes would fail.