Auggie opens his door just after midnight, drawing his ratty robe closed around his flannel pajamas. The wind roars, sheets of rain lashing our clothes and blowing across his threshold as we stand there, drenched and shivering. I’m pretty sure he’s going to slam his door on all of us, until he sees the body slung over Julio’s shoulder. Kai’s dripping hair is the only part of her that isn’t covered by the blanket we found in the back of the van we stole to get here, but it must be enough. Auggie’s dark eyes dart past us to the alley behind his row house, then he ushers us inside.

The door closes, muffling the howling wind outside. Poppy and Marie exchange skeptical looks once we’re all stuffed in the cluttered parlor. The fly I saw last time I was here buzzes curiously around us. Amber sniffs and wrinkles her nose.

Auggie pushes the blanket back from Kai’s face. He pulls a penlight from his shirt pocket and pries open one of her eyelids, studying her pupil as he passes the beam in front of the frosty swirls in her iris. “Let me guess,” he says dryly, “you finally got around to telling her about her sister.”

“You knew?” I ask. He was less than welcoming to me when we met. I thought he, like many, only knew about me because of the rebellion. If he knew about my involvement in Névé’s death, why didn’t he tell Kai then and there?

His nod is tight. He points to a rumpled sofa against the far wall. Julio drops Kai into it, wrapping the blanket snugly around her, tucking her arms securely against her sides, probably afraid she’ll wake up and come after him with a shiv of ice.

“Daniel Lyon paid me a visit about a week before you two showed up here. He said Kai might come seeking my help, and she might bring a surprising guest with her.” Auggie blows out a weary sigh, watching her sleep. “Didn’t seem right to keep that kind of secret from her, and I didn’t want any part of whatever Lyon thought was coming. But he said it was critical not to distract her from whatever mission she was on. He said she would discover the truth on her own, at the right time.” He turns to me, frowning at my wet clothes. “There’s a closet upstairs. Get some towels for you and your friends. You’re tracking water everywhere.”