I sat back up. “Funny you mention that . . .”

I told Jill the news, about how she might no longer be on Lissa’s enemies’ most‑wanted list. I told her how she might be able to live a normal life–as much as a princess whose half sister was queen of a nation could. Jill’s eyes grew so wide, I thought her face would run out of room.

“I could see Mom . . .” She blinked back tears. “I’ve gotten used to being here . . . but I’ve missed her so much. I want to see her again.”

I gave her a comforting pat on the hand, refusing to let her know she wasn’t the only one wishing for a mother.

She brushed her emotions aside. “What’ll happen to everyone if I leave? Everyone else will leave too, right? New assignments?”

“I suppose so. No reason to stay.”

“Sydney will leave too,” Jill realized.

I nodded.

“What will you do?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I came here for you. I still want to support you, you know that. But do we need to stay together so long as the bond is inactive? And how can I follow Sydney to her next assignment? We have the excuse of her job now for seeing each other. If I followed her halfway around the world . . . well, there’d be no explaining that.”

“She could leave them. Marcus did.” The sympathy in Jill’s face almost made me want to cry. “You could go somewhere. Are you still making up escape plans?”

West Virginia. Rome. New Orleans. Fiji. Sweden.

“Those are just jokes,” I said, feeling sad for reasons I couldn’t understand. “I need to talk to her about it. She doesn’t even know the news, and there’s been no vote yet.”

But first we had to get through Marcus and the ink delivery. I texted Sydney when I got home, careful in my wording since it wasn’t the Love Phone. Everything still a go?  Her answer came back swiftly: As far as I know.

The day dragged after that, mostly because I missed her and wanted to see her. I took care of some assignments and went to the coffee shop, which had disappointing results when my phone didn’t turn up. My only hope was that someone had found it in a classroom and turned it in to Carlton’s security office. Otherwise, Sydney and I would have to get new Love Phones.

When I went to Jackie’s later, Marcus actually answered the door with two guys behind him I didn’t know. They both had golden lilies on their cheeks with no indigo seal. I wondered if these were his guinea pigs.

“Adrian,” Marcus said, striding forward to shake my hand.

“Marcus,” I returned. It was hard to believe we’d reached this point, since I’d tried to punch him sixty seconds after the first time we met.

“This is Jamie and Chad; just picked them up in New Mexico.”

I shook their hands too, and Jackie strolled into the living room. I grinned, genuinely happy to see her. “Always a delight.” She set down a tray of tea and lemonade and kissed me on the cheek.

“No hot date tonight?” I asked.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Well, I could hardly go out when I was hosting some sort of clandestine meeting, could I? Rest easy, you’ll have your privacy, and if you’re worried about my relationship with Malachi, be assured that we’re going out later and that things are still going wonderfully.”

“Worried? No. Puzzled, slightly disturbed? Yes. But I’m not surprised things are going well. I’m sure you have him eating out of your hand, heartbreaker.”

She chuckled. “Oh, Adrian, I’m glad Sydney keeps you around for entertainment.”

“I supposed it’d have to be that,” said Marcus, nodding in thanks as he took some lemonade. “And speaking of her . . . I’m surprised she wasn’t here an hour beforehand.”

I glanced at a clock. It was actually five minutes before the designated time. “A month ago she would’ve been. But now her sister’s been assigned here, and life’s a little more . . . difficult.”

Marcus’s eyebrows knit together. “Yeah? Want to elaborate?”

Jackie scooped up a tabby cat. “I think this is my cue to go in my workshop. Come get me if you need anything, and make sure Sydney says hello before she leaves.”

I sat down in the living room with Marcus and his Merry Men. I strategically took over a whole love seat so that no one else could sit there until Sydney came. Well, no one human, at least. As soon as I sat down, three cats jumped up with me and made themselves comfortable.

“They recruited Sydney’s sister,” I explained to Marcus. “And made her part of the Amberwood act. She’s got a lot to prove and has been extra suspicious of Sydney’s activities–like if she’s gone too long or seems extra friendly with any Moroi.”

Marcus’s face darkened as I spoke. “I warned her. I told her this would happen. She should have come with me.”

I pointed to the pail of ink that Jackie must have brought out. “If she had, she wouldn’t have been able to do this. She may have changed the whole way you do business, Robin Hood. Ink that permanently breaks the Alchemist hold but that they can’t see? You can put double agents everywhere.”

“I know.” He glanced over at Jamie and Chad, who were watching their leader with rapt eyes. “And believe me, I’ve thought about it. But it’s so dangerous. The Alchemists are good at sniffing out traitors.”

“Sydney’s good too,” I said staunchly.

“I know she is. But like I told her before, you can’t be on your game all the time. Eventually, you slip up. Little things. Little bread crumbs.”

I kept my own game face on and pretended to be very interested in a calico purring on my lap, but inside me, unease stirred. Little things. Like sex in a car. Or staying the night. Or picking me up from a pawnshop. Any one thing that some spy for the Alchemists could find out about. We’d gone in with good intentions, but Marcus was right. We’d grown careless. When I looked up, I saw him studying me with his bright blue eyes. He might not know about the specifics of Sydney and me, but he knew what I was thinking: that she’d slipped up.

“Would you be able to get her out of here?” I asked. “If she would go?”

He nodded. “I should be able to.”

“Where would you take her?” West Virginia. Rome. New Orleans.

“I don’t know yet. Somewhere she can still be useful but safe.” Marcus grew silent for a few moments, and I could tell he really did care about her and all his other recruits. “ Would  she go?”

“She’ll go,” I said firmly, in no way letting on how difficult it would be to talk her into running away. And I’ll go with her.

Marcus fell into his own thoughts for a bit and then checked his cell phone. “Where is she? I’m dying to know about this ink.”

I looked at the time as well. She was fifteen minutes late. I couldn’t remember Sydney ever being late in her life. Taking out my own phone, I tried to think of a neutral message and texted: Everything right in the world?  When no answer came right away, I took that as a good sign.

“She’s probably on her way,” I explained to Marcus. “She won’t text and drive.”

He wanted to know about the ink, so I gave him a very vague overview that didn’t mention Sydney using magic. I couldn’t recall the geological specifics, but it was enough to intrigue him, as did the news about the spirit “Strigoi vaccine.” I figured that wasn’t going to stay a secret for long, and Marcus was no friend to the Strigoi.

When another fifteen minutes passed, I started to get uneasy. I actually called her, knowing the Bluetooth in her car would pull in the call. Instead, I went to voice mail. Marcus’s eyes watched me sharply.

“Adrian, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I don’t–there.”

We all listened as a car pulled up into the driveway. Almost immediately, its door slammed and was then followed by frantic and loud knocking at Jackie’s door. I was a little surprised that Sydney wouldn’t just come on in. Jackie appeared at the commotion, but I made it the door first . . .