“Attention, everyone. This is the captain speaking.” The passengers quiet at the garbled voice coming over the staticky PA system. “We’re passing through some unexpected weather. We’re going to ask everyone to please remain in their seats at this time. Please check to make sure your seat belts are fastened and secure any loose articles under the seat in front of you.”

Lightning flashes outside the window. Kai shuts her eyes, her mouth moving in a silent prayer as raindrops spatter against the glass and the nose of the plain lifts.

“Is it Doug?” My knuckles tighten on the armrest, my stomach clenching as I realize how easy it would be for him to track us to this flight.

Kai shakes her head. “He hates you far too much for that. He’d never let you die that easily.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he can find us with the staff. I saw it after he took it from Lyon. The eye was missing.”

“Missing?”

She nods, her skin turning sallow as the cabin shudders. “The head of the scythe was wrapped with a sash when I met with Lyon last week. I couldn’t figure out why. But after Doug took it, the sash was gone and so was the eye.”

Strange. Why would Lyon cover the staff, unless he didn’t want anyone to know the eye was missing? Whatever his reasons, I should probably feel relieved that it’s gone—one less weapon Doug can use against us—but considering all the other power he’s managed to amass, it hardly seems important.

“If Doug has Ananke’s magic, he doesn’t need the staff to find us. How are we supposed to infiltrate the Observatory if Doug knows our every move before we do?”

“I’m not convinced he does. After Doug took Lyon’s magic, it burned out one of his eyes,” she says with a disgusted shiver. “It was probably the curse.”

“Curse?”

“You know, stolen magic is cursed magic.” Kai gapes at my puzzled expression. “Doug stole the magic, and the magic took his eye. See? Cursed,” she says, as if our problems are solved.

“Lyon never lost an eye,” I say cynically.

“Lyon never took anything from Ananke.”

Another round of turbulence rocks the plane. We both press back in our seats as the plane dips violently. Lightning forks through the clouds and raindrops streak across the window.

“The storms are getting worse,” Kai says. “The weather will probably kill us all before Doug gets a chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“Storms mean power outages. And if power is down, then so are the connections to the ley lines. If Seasons are locked out and end up in the wind, there’s no one to create new ones to restore the balance.”

“Why can’t Doug do it?”