And the second I type it, I’m exceedingly grateful Layla decided to follow us.

“I still say it would be simpler to pick one of the locks on the side doors instead of counting on November’s climbing skills,” Aarya continues, keeping her voice down and giving me a wary look.

Ash shakes his head. “And risk coming face to face with a security guard who is likely guarding the inside of that door? No thanks.”

“A guard we could easily knock out with Angels’ Dream,” Aarya says, bringing up one of the many options we disagreed on earlier.

“Aarya, we already decided,” Ines says calmly, the same way you might remind a child to pick up their toys.

Aarya frowns at Ines. “No loyalty, I swear.”

And so we retrace our steps to the back of the building where it adjoins the park.

“Well, let’s just hope November doesn’t screw this up,” Aarya adds, but no one responds.

We walk close to the hotel wall, stopping under a balcony leading to a second-story room. From what I can tell from the ground, the lights are out and the curtains are drawn. We take a quick scan of the park to make sure no one is nearby. We all look at each other in silent agreement that this one will do.

“Ready?” Ash says, and I nod.

Ines faces the park, scanning for possible onlookers, and Aarya stands with her arms crossed and a sour expression. She’s been resisting me all day, and I have no idea why. Maybe she never got over her suspicion about me being out so early this morning, or maybe she’s still pissed that I don’t want to rip Jag’s head off with my teeth. It’s hard to tell.

I grab the white stone of the wall and hoist myself up. There is a fair amount of decorative work and the grooves around each stone are deep enough that climbing the wall is no problem; I could grip these handholds in my sleep.

I wedge my boots on a small ledge, pushing up, and grab the second-floor railing. I get a good hold with both hands and swing my legs over the side, landing silently on the stone balcony. I sweep my eyes over the park below. A group of four twentysomethings, all wearing Santa hats and talking too loudly, walk along one of the park paths. I look below and my friends have shifted to casual poses and appear to be chatting.

The instant the loud group passes, I grab the rope off my belt, tie it securely around the railing with a tight double knot, and drop it down to them. Ash is the first one up and he winks at me.

“Brilliant work,” he whispers, and I smile back at him. It feels kind of exhilarating, getting to use my climbing abilities.