Finally, I heard footsteps. And voices. Ian wasn’t alone. Confusion swept through me.

“Just think of it as… an experiment,” Ian was saying.

“Are you crazy?” Jared answered. “Is this some sick joke?”

My stomach dropped through the floor.

Overwhelmed. That’s what he’d meant.

Blood burned in my face, hot as Jamie’s fever. What was Ian doing to me? I wanted to run, to hide somewhere better than my last hiding place, somewhere I could never, ever be found, no matter how many flashlights they used. But my legs were shaking, and I couldn’t move.

Ian and Jared came into view in the room where the tunnels met. Ian’s face was expressionless; he had one hand on Jared’s shoulder and was guiding him, almost pushing him forward. Jared was staring at Ian with anger and doubt.

“Through here,” Ian encouraged, forcing Jared toward me. I flattened my back against the rock.

Jared saw me, saw my mortified expression, and stopped.

“Wanda, what’s this about?”

I threw Ian one blazing glance of reproach and then tried to meet Jared’s eyes.

I couldn’t do it. I looked at his feet instead.

“I lost Melanie,” I whispered.

“You lost her!”

I nodded miserably.

His voice was hard and angry. “How?”

“I’m not sure. I made her be quiet… but she always comes back… always before… I can’t hear her now… and Jamie…”

“She’s gone?” Muted agony in his voice.

“I don’t know. I can’t find her.”

Deep breath. “Why does Ian think I have to kiss you?”

“Not kiss me,” I said, my voice so faint I could barely hear it myself. “Kiss her. Nothing upset her more than when you kissed us… before. Nothing pulled her to the surface like that. Maybe… No. You don’t have to. I’ll try to find her myself.”

I still had my eyes on his feet, so I saw him step toward me.

“You think, if I kiss her… ?”

I couldn’t even nod. I tried to swallow.

Familiar hands brushed my neck, tracing down either side to my shoulders. My heart thudded loud enough that I wondered if he could hear it.

I was so embarrassed, forcing him to touch me this way. What if he thought it was a trick—my idea, not Ian’s?

I wondered if Ian was still there, watching. How much would this hurt him?

One hand continued, as I knew it would, down my arm to my wrist, leaving a trail of fire behind it. The other cupped beneath my jaw, as I knew it must, and pulled my face up.

His cheek pressed against mine, the skin burning where we were connected, and he whispered in my ear.

“Melanie. I know you’re there. Come back to me.”

His cheek slowly slid back, and his chin tilted to the side so that his mouth covered mine.