“I heard it on the shortwave radio,” says a female voice. “A Guard in the Control Room said there was a disturbance in the south portal.”

Kai and I back away from the door as footsteps stop in front of it.

“They have to be in here.” Another female voice. “It’s the only way they could have gotten in.”

Kai readies her bow. Drawing an arrow from her quiver, she kneels in the middle of the hall. I palm a knife and press back against the wall.

The door rattles on its hinges. The metal groans, reluctant to open.

“Help me brace it.” The male voice is familiar. Probably one of the Guards who attacked us at the villa.

A section of loose rebar slides through the opening. Kai lines up her shot as the gap in the door widens. A shoulder wedges through, the Guard’s biceps bulging and the muscles in his forearm straining as he forces it open, holding it for the others.

A long leg in tactical pants stretches through the gap. Kai draws back her bowstring, taking aim as a slender arm and two long auburn braids slip sideways through the opening.

“Wait!” I shout, shoving Kai’s bow as the string slides from her fingertips. The arrow flies wide, ricocheting off the wall and skidding to a stop at Amber’s feet.

“What the hell are you doing here?” The rush of adrenaline makes me sway on my feet.

“Thank Gaia we found you!” Amber throws her arms around me. My arm throbs as she squeezes the breath from me. “We got a direct flight out of San Diego. Did you seriously think we would let you go after Fleur and Chill alone?”

I pry her away as Julio, Marie, and Poppy slither through the gap in the door. “Sorry, I tried to call, but the battery on my phone died, and I—”

The hall flares with light as Amber conjures a flame. Kai peels another arrow from her quiver, shielding herself behind me as Amber’s firelight finds her. “What the hell is she doing here?” Amber’s flame kicks up sparks. “Stand clear, Jack. I am going to roast her.”

“Wait . . .” I raise my hands, nearly falling as I back into Kai’s bow. The tip of an arrow slides into my peripheral vision, and I shove it to the side. “It’s not what you think. She came to help.”

Julio stalks closer. “You’d better explain fast, Jack, because I’m about ready to drown someone.” I can’t exactly blame him. Julio was the one who yanked three arrows from my back and got stuck performing CPR on my bleeding corpse after Kai skewered me.

Amber’s flame roars and Kai ducks behind my shoulder.