I opened my eyes and looked around before darkness caught me again.

“FRANKIE!”

I woke with a gasp but again darkness dragged me back down. NO! I screamed but my mouth wouldn’t move. Except this time, I could still hear the screams and explosions all around me. The ground trembled. Metal clashed against metal.

“POUR IT, MEI-LING!” Savannah shouted.

Liquid splashed onto my face. My eyes flew open. Savannah and Mei-Ling were leaning over me with wide, panicked eyes. Mei-Ling patted me down like she was checking for injuries.

“What happened?” I heard myself ask.

“You saved our lives,” Savannah said through clenched teeth while she hugged her hands to her chest. Blood dripped down her gray shirt.

“You keep falling asleep. That smoke dragon must be doing this to you.” Mei-Ling grimaced and tucked her neon-orange hair behind her ears. There was purple blood splattered on her hands. “Savannah had me splash a little graveyard dirt juice on you. Sorry.”

“Don’t tell me. Thanks. And thank you.” I sat up just as my brain did the math. I grabbed my best friend’s arm and shook her. “Wait, Mei-Ling, what are you doing here?”

She sat up straight and pushed her shoulders back. “You’re short-staffed and I’m a fighter. Get over it.”

“Dammit. No. We’ll talk about this later—Savannah!” I felt the blood drain from my face when I realized how badly she was hurt. “Your hands!”

The palms of her hands and fingers were bloodied and raw. There was just no other word other than raw. “I know,” she whispered.

If she was going to say more, she wouldn’t have gotten the chance. Screams ripped through the night all around us. I glanced around but it was mayhem. People scrambled for cover. Somehow we’d been thrown off the main path of the Unseelies.

Yet there was a specific head of golden hair I didn’t see. “Emersyn? Where is she?”

Savannah turned sheet-white. “What do you mean?”

“She was right behind you! That’s why I tackled you both⁠—”

“Where is she?” Savannah screamed and leapt to her feet.

Mei-Ling helped me to mine. “EMERSYN!”

The metal seats ripped off the ground, then flew over a few rows. Dozens of chairs stacked on top of each other to make a little mountain of metal. It was something I’d see in an X-Men movie with Magneto—SHIT. EMERSYN!

“Oh no,” Savannah whispered at the same time, coming to the same conclusion.

“Emersyn . . .” I hated how my voice trembled.