“St. George,” I repeated. I wanted to sink to the ground in relief. “That’s it. The last piece. We’ve got the rest—the layout, whatever obstacles she meant. Now we’ve just got to get everyone mobilized—only we’ve got three days to do it.”

“Why three days?”

“Because they plan on killing her then, just like they were planning with Sonya. It was an arrangement they had for holding her for Alicia while she played her game with me.”

More silence, but I could sense the shift in Adrian’s tone. “Three days.” I knew how hard it had to be for him. The thought of her trapped and undergoing torture was eating me up, and I didn’t have nearly the bond he did with her.

“We’ll get her,” I said. “Don’t worry. Now that we have all this, I’ll make the Alchemists help. You contact the guardians—see if Rose and Dimitri can organize that. And check on Declan while you’re at it—”

“I have,” he interrupted. “Checked on Declan, I mean. I think I’m driving my mom crazy with all my calls. They’re fine. But Sydney . . . I told Neil.”

My mind was spinning with plans for Jill, so that news drew me up short. “About Declan? What’d he say?”

“He’s afraid to be around Declan. I mean, not afraid of Declan himself, but afraid that someone will string the truth about Declan’s history together.”

“But he’s his father,” I said lamely. “He has to be with him.”

Adrian sighed. “That’s what I told him! But Neil keeps arguing that some spirit user might see they’re related or that even a layperson might notice plain old physical resemblance and start asking questions. He says we can’t show any sign that they have a connection or inspire anyone to do a genetic test—and he insists that that involves him keeping his distance. He offered to do everything in his power to help Declan otherwise. I swear, I think he’d rob a bank if he needed to.”

My head reeled. “We’ll talk him out of it. He’s probably just in shock. Once he hears reason, he’ll understand.”

We disconnected, and I hoped my words were true. It made my heart ache that Neil would want to make such a sacrifice, even if—logically—I could understand what might make him think that way. But still. How could he deprive Declan of a father when he already had lost a mother? And what would become of Declan then?