I arch my back, clenching my teeth against a wince. Amber eases away slowly, as if she’s not sure I’m competent to sit up on my own. Marie snaps a first-aid kit closed and sets it down on a flat of bottled waters. A piece of bread hangs between her teeth. She tears off a chunk and holds it out to me. I take it, only because my stomach seems to have a direct line to the nerves in my fingers.

“Where’d we get all this stuff?” I ask.

Julio answers between bites, hitching a thumb at Kai. “The goddess of the hunt snuck some supplies from the kitchen.”

Kai flips him off from the dark corner where she’s sitting, alone. “You said I could have my weapons back.”

“I said you could have your bow back. And that’s exactly what I gave you!”

“I want my arrows, too.”

“Fat chance.”

Kai stares at her quiver where it rests on the far side of the cavern. She’s the only one not staring at me. The air is still wrought with a fragile tension as my friends hover protectively around me.

“I’m fine. See?” I gesture to myself as I stand up. “Totally fine. Let’s go.” No one moves. “What the hell are we waiting for? By now, Doug already knows we’re here. The faster we get moving, the faster we get to Fleur and Chill. Right, Poppy?”

She gnaws her lip. “We were talking on the way down here, Jack. We think . . .” She looks over her shoulder at the others. “We think maybe it’s better if Julio and Amber take point on this.”

I give a reluctant nod. “Okay, sure. That makes sense.” Julio and Amber are the strongest of us. And if anything happens to them, they can heal each other. It’s a smart move to put them out front. “Fine. Julio and Amber take point, and Kai and I lead from behind. Got it.” Amber and Julio exchange a glance. Marie raises a brow. “What?” I ask, looking between them.

“It’s just . . . we thought the Handlers should stay back and support in other ways.”

“What other ways?”

“You know, monitoring Julio and Amber’s progress from a safe distance.”

My narrowed eyes dart from Poppy to Julio to Amber to Marie. They’re serious.

“Kai told us everything,” Amber says softly. “Doug’s looking for you, Jack. Not us.”

Julio jams his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “The minute he finds you, that’s it. It’s game over for Chill and Fleur.”

Poppy rests a hand on my shoulder. “If the rest of us stay hidden while Julio and Amber look for them, we can buy them more time.”