I’m still struggling to recover from the climb, unable to muster any renewed fear. It’s a relief, almost, to feel so shattered that all I can focus on is getting my breathing under control. Again, I can’t help thinking that Enzo would be appalled to see me right now. And again, I know I would have curled up in a ball somewhere along the path if Arryn hadn’t healed me, diseased corpses for company or not.

“Where does this tunnel let out?” I finally manage to ask. “Are we close?”

“Not far now,” Arryn assures me. “It opens up right in the heart of Q Station—Quarantine Station. Once we’re on the surface, it’s only a short walk to the wharf at Quarantine Beach, where we can catch a ferry back to the city.” She pauses. “I know it’s frustrating, that we had to go all this way. But with what we’re hoping to do today …”

She doesn’t need to finish. We all know we couldn’t risk our plans being discovered. Couldn’t risk being followed or stopped. A long hike through an admittedly terrifying tunnel is a small price to pay if it means we’ll succeed in our mission. And I’m assuming we won’t have to venture back this way, instead taking the more direct route once we have Ward and the breakout teen with us. Better to ask forgiveness than seek permission, after all.

“It’s been years since I visited Q Station,” Cami muses as we traverse the final leg of the path. “I came here for one of the late-night ghost tours with Landon and”—she seems startled by her own memory as she continues—“and Kael, actually. His dad, too, which is why they let us take the tour, since normally you have to be over eighteen. But since we were accompanied by Jeremiah, they allowed us three kids through.”

She cocks her head, waves of her golden hair shifting with the movement as she adds, “Or maybe Jeremiah Spoke something that had them ignoring the rules for us. This was back before … before …”

Before the lab accident that killed Cami’s parents and resulted in Kael’s family leaving Lengard for good.

Cami clears her throat and hastily continues, “Anyway, it was a while ago. I’d forgotten all about it until now.”

“I’ve heard their ghost tours are really good,” Arryn says.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was trying to distract Cami from the dark path of her memories, drawing her back into the light. Again, I wonder about Arryn, unsure if perhaps we just started off on the wrong foot. I still can’t get a proper read on whether or not to trust her, so for now, I withhold judgment.