Poppy pushes her way to the front of their group. “Knock it off, all of you! And put that fire out. The air’s thin enough down here already.” Poppy turns her attention to me, her big blue eyes softening when they find me. “It’s good to see you, Jack.” She plants a kiss on my cheek.

“How’d you get down here?” I ask. Obviously, they didn’t come the same way we did.

Julio snatches Kai’s bow from her hands. The look she gives him could burn the place down. “We staked out the Winter freight elevator and got a message to Boreas,” Julio says, passing the bow to Amber. “He smuggled us down. We’ve been hiding out in my old room since we got here a few hours ago, but we can’t stay there. The whole wing is operating on reserve power. A team of Guards just escorted all the Seasons and Handlers from Amber’s old hall and relocated them somewhere else, probably to conserve power. All the systems running to the vacant rooms have been shut down, including ventilation. We can’t risk turning on the air. Someone is bound to notice.”

Marie checks the hall outside the door. The wheel of her lighter rasps in her pocket as she inclines her head toward Kai. “If we’re going to kill Robin Hood, let’s get it over with already. We don’t have much time before the Guards come to the same conclusion we did and start looking for Jack.”

Kai backs away from them, using me as a shield as she pulls me by the shoulder toward the dead end. “I just want to find my sister.”

“No one’s killing anyone,” I say, holding out my arms. Amber and Julio stare at Kai as if they’re actually considering it. Sweat soaks through my shirt. The room spins and I shake my head to clear it. The movement sends shock waves of pain through my skull, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to vomit. The tension between Kai and the others feels like it’s the only thing holding me up. “Kai knows a way through the catacombs,” I say, taking Julio by the arm as he tries to sidestep around me.

Julio and Amber exchange a look. I loosen my grip, dangerously light-headed, as the tension dissolves.

Marie juts her chin at me. “Whatever we do, we’d better do it fast before lover boy over here bleeds out.”

Confused, I follow the line of her gaze down my arm. My sleeve’s dripping, a steady patter of blood. A pool of it spreads over the floor, almost black under the dim red light.

The room swims. Kai sucks in a sharp breath and Amber swears. Julio surges toward me. The floor drops out from under me as I sink into his arms.

25

One Step Backward Taken

FLEUR