“I like Mr. Selby,” Shay protested. “He was a great teacher.”

“Of course you like him.” Adne threw a stern glance at Connor. “He’s a brave man and brilliant to boot. Connor just has no appreciation for intellect.”

“You know you don’t have to defend Silas just ’cause you’re both overachievers,” he said. “My point is, intellect won’t save your hide at the end of the day.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Shay countered, looking ready to have a serious debate. But Connor shook his head.

“I call ’em like I see ’em, kid. I’m not going to argue with you.”

“You just like free drinks.” Silas began scribbling furiously in what looked like some sort of logbook.

“God, you aren’t filing another complaint against me, are you?” Connor pointed the dagger at Silas.

“Actions unbecoming, threatening language . . .” Silas didn’t look up.

“I’ll just ignore it, Silas.” Anika folded her arms across her chest. “You submit at least ten of those a week.”

“Twenty.”

I was getting impatient with all this bickering. “How do you get information from them? How do they avoid detection?” We’d been talking about a fight. Was that ever going to happen? My teeth were sharp in my mouth and I was working hard not to growl every time I spoke.

“We keep two post office boxes in Vail, under aliases of course, but we give them each a key,” Anika replied, happy for the opportunity to interrupt. “That’s how we communicate. We change the name and box every few months and distribute the new keys. Vail has a lot of ski bums and seasonal workers who move in and out; it keeps interest in the rotating names low.”

I nodded, increasingly on edge. The Searchers had been watching us the whole time, and we hadn’t even known it. They were unpredictable, but that seemed to make them more effective than I’d first thought. My pride in the effectiveness of Guardian patrols was being eroded with each revelation.

“You’ll rendezvous with Grant tonight,” Silas said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper out of his jeans pocket. “I just got confirmation.”

Anika reached for the note. “Silas, we’ve talked about keeping correspondence neat.”

“I was in a hurry.” He shrugged.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” Connor said. “You don’t know where it’s been.”

“Shut up, you louse,” Silas snapped.

“Louse?” Connor laughed. “How deep did you have to dig for that one?”

“Quiet, both of you.” Monroe spoke for the first time since rejoining our group. The calm, forceful demeanor that usually emanated from the Guide had returned. “Anika, my team is set. Can we execute today, like we’d hoped?”

I heldmy breath, waiting for the response. If she didn’t say yes, I’d be damned if I didn’t find my own way back to Vail.

“Yes,” she replied. “Who’s the team?”

I smiled, running my tongue over my sharp teeth. Shay looked at me. I could tell he was worried, but he nodded. He knew as well as I did how much this fight mattered.

“Lydia, Connor, Ethan, and Calla,” he said, startling me. As much as I was eager for battle, it felt strange to be counted among the Searchers. Plus there was one name that still left me uneasy.

“Ethan?” I asked, remembering the raging eyes and maniacal screams of the Searcher not half an hour ago.

“He must adjust to this alliance as quickly as possible,” Monroe said. “There isn’t time to coddle him.”

“I agree,” Anika said. “Who else?”

“Isaac and Tess will help us stage the mission from the outpost.” He paused, glancing at Adne. “Jerome will weave.”

Adne sputtered, but Anika spoke first. “No. Jerome has been reassigned to a teaching post. He’s an excellent Weaver and he’s earned his place in the Academy. Adne is the Haldis Weaver effective immediately.”

Adne closed her mouth, looking smug.

“I thought with the nature of this—” Monroe began.

“No discussion,” Anika broke in. “Adne weaves. I trust that won’t be a problem.”

“No,” Monroe said, though he folded his arms across his chest, clearly unhappy.

I frowned as I watched the exchange. What’s up with them? Whatever the source of Monroe and Adne’s bickering was, I didn’t want it interfering with this mission. Luckily, neither did Anika.

“Good,” she said. “There’s no time to waste. Ethan’s already there?”

“Yep,” Connor said. “Should have cooled off by now. Tess works magic with the ravaged soul. Plus I think she gave him cookies.”

He winked at Lydia. “That whole Betty Crocker thing is how she snagged you, isn’t it?”

“I’m a sucker for oatmeal chocolate chip.” Lydia shrugged.

“Maybe Ethan hasn’t eaten them all yet.” Connor laughed.

“You’re about to find out.” Anika smiled. “Adne, open a door.”

FIVE

“WAIT.” SHAY’S HAND WAS gripping my arm, holding me back even though I hadn’t yet started to go anywhere. “You’re leaving now?”

“We only have a window of hours before an elder Nightshade patrol is out on the mountain, if indeed the younger wolves are still taking patrol routes—which we are betting on for the time being,” Anika said. “Speed is essential if we hope to make contact. We’ve got the time zone working in our favor, but that’s about it.”