Julio glances down at Amber. She nods against his back. “Amber and I can get the transmitter to Fleur. We should be able to distract Doug long enough for Chill to get Fleur out of there. Between the two of us, we can probably take him down.”

Poppy frowns as she closes her first-aid kit. “Whoever kills Doug will just take the brunt of all that power. We’ll be in the same boat Doug is in now. No,” Poppy says, rubbing blood from her hands with a wet wipe as she thinks, “we already know how this works. The magic is anchored to the objects. Chronos’s magic was tied to his scythe. Ananke’s was tied to the crystal eye. If Amber or Julio strike Doug down, the magic will be free. Time will jump straight to whoever’s in possession of the staff, and Inevitability will find whoever’s in possession of the eye, but if Fleur’s gone, Gaia’s magic will be lost all over again. It needs someone to jump into. And I think that someone has to be tied to the earth.”

They all look to me, each of us silently answering the question. Fleur is probably the strongest Spring in this place. Had Gaia and Lyon seen this moment coming all along? Is that why Lyon never told us what he knew about our future—that Fleur would be kidnapped and brought here—because he knew this was the only way she’d come? Did they let it happen, knowing the role Fleur was destined to play in all this? If so, that only makes my role in Lyon’s overarching plan clearer.

“It has to be me. I have to be the one to meet with Doug.” I fight back a wince as I shrug on what’s left of my blood-stiffened shirt. “Doug won’t see me as a threat because I can’t take his magic the way you can. I’ll meet with him alone and get the transmitter to Fleur.”

“Then what?” Marie asks around her gum.

“Then I take the staff.”

She stops chewing to stare at me. “But you already said you can’t take the magic for yourself.”

“No, but I can steal his toy for a while.” I think back to what Kai said. About how we all have the ability to wield a little magic. All this plan needs is a little sleight of hand. “We’ll use Fleur’s disappearance as a diversion. Fleur’s flash should be all the chaos we need to pull this off. While Doug’s distracted, I’ll steal the staff and run. Poppy will ensure Fleur makes it through the ley lines. Chill will be my eyes and ears, making sure I have a clear path of escape with the staff.”

Chill grins, holding his knuckles out to me like he always did before I left for a hunt. “Just like old times.”