I pried the door open. Somehow, Gabriel made it inside first. I felt Duchess flying by us, but visually, the only thing I could see was the outline of NATO’s form on the ground.

“No,” I said. “Not after Silver. I can’t—”

“Kira.” I heard Free, but it took me a moment to realize that she’d somehow made her way past me and was kneeling next to NATO. “He’s got a pulse.”

Alive. I made my way toward them. He’s alive. I went to the ground and laid a hand on NATO’s neck. Beside me, Duchess whined. Saskia was still howling. My hands searched NATO for an injury but found nothing. He stirred beneath my touch. He tried to climb to his feet but stumbled.

“Ketamine.” Gabriel’s voice was tight. “The vet uses it to knock animals out. He’ll be groggy.…”

Whatever else Gabriel was saying, I didn’t hear it. The world slowed down around me, because Saskia was still howling, and NATO was trying to drag himself toward the back of the barn, and all I could think was that no one had seen Jude.

Ness had disappeared, and no one had seen Jude.

I took off in the direction that NATO was trying to go. There, at the back of the barn, a dozen rocks lay in a neat circle. In the middle of the circle, there was a large envelope. Behind it, a single white candle burned, the flame flickering before my eyes.

Unable to hear anything but the sound of my own ragged breathing, I bent to pick up the envelope. Before I could think better of it, I slid my finger beneath the flap, tearing it open. The sting of a paper cut barely registered as I removed the contents.

Three items.

The first was a map. A quick glance told me that someone had marked a spot, deep in the depths of the park, with a thick red X. The next two items were photographs. The first was one I’d never seen: Cady and Mac and Ash, older than they’d been in the last picture I’d seen—early twenties. Mac’s expression was still serious. Ash’s devil-may-care grin had taken on an edge. And Cady looked…

Happy.

I turned the picture over, half expecting a caption, but the back was blank. Ignoring the tightness in my chest, I turned my attention to the second photograph. It was facedown, and for several long seconds, I couldn’t bring myself to turn it over.

Free reached over and did it for me. Her sharp intake of breath was the only warning I got before the face in that photo cut me, straight to the core.