Sydney had a point. What she and Eddie were volunteering for—infiltrating some barbaric initiation ritual—was dangerous, but we couldn’t forget Sabrina’s role in this. She was playing a game with a very volatile group and could ultimately face more risk.

“Depends on if you guys get caught or not.” Sabrina offered a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “So don’t get caught, okay?”

Trey looked grimmer and grimmer as the planning progressed. “But this only happens if you can’t convince the Alchemists that the Warriors are holding Jill. If you can convince them, they can hopefully do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to get involved with any of this madness.”

“Hopefully,” agreed Marcus. “But in the meantime, we should prep Sydney and Eddie on what to expect if they do go with Sabrina.”

Sabrina proceeded to give us a rundown on how she planned to sneak Sydney and Eddie in. The whole thing sounded awful the more she described it, and I again wanted to ask Sydney not to go. I realized me wanting to protect her from those dangers was akin to her asking me to hold back on spirit. Both were dangerous courses of action . . . yet how could we not, when Jill’s life was at risk?

There’s no good answer, declared Aunt Tatiana morosely. And no good will come of any of this.

Lunch wound down with plans being finalized and Sydney intending to get some magical disguise help from her witch connections. Sabrina got a call summoning her back to the Warriors earlier than she’d expected. She grimaced and stood up. “I’ll be in touch soon, when I get a few more details about the recruitment. Can one of you drop Marcus off at his safe house?”

“We’ll do it,” Sydney said, preempting Eddie and Trey. “We’ll talk to you guys later.”

Our group dispersed, and Sydney and I led Marcus to the rental car we’d been driving since coming back to Palm Springs. It was a convertible, a bonus upgrade given to us by the company, even though we hadn’t asked for it.

“Nice,” said Marcus. “Great day to have the top down.” He glanced over at me. “Er, maybe not.”

After yesterday’s gray, Palm Springs was back to its sweltering summer conditions, ones I certainly didn’t want to expose myself to. Sunlight didn’t kill Moroi, the way it did Strigoi, but it could certainly be uncomfortable for us if we were out in it long enough. Moments like this reminded me of the differences between Sydney and me. She loved the sun, and a life with me kept her from it.

“You can put the top down if you want,” I said casually, tossing Sydney the keys.

She gave me a weak smile, guessing my thoughts. “Nah, I’d rather have air conditioning.”

I smiled back, knowing she was lying. Sometimes, lounging in bed, she and I would discuss plans for a future dream house. We’d decided we’d build a screened-in porch, airy enough for me to still enjoy the heat but covered enough to block the worst of the light. I always teased her I’d serve her lemonade out there. It would be the perfect place for us—the meeting of worlds. But at the moment, it was hard to imagine a future like that.

Marcus gave her directions to an apartment complex that actually wasn’t that far from where I used to go to school at Carlton on the other side of town. As she drove us onto the highway, I dialed someone that few Moroi were lucky enough to have in their phone’s memory. I was even more surprised when she answered on the first ring.

“Hello, Adrian,” said Lissa.

“Were you waiting by the phone for me?” I teased.

“I was waiting for Christian to call me, actually. But I’d rather hear from you—at least if you’re calling to say you’ve got Jill.”

“Afraid not,” I said, feeling a pang at the loss. “But I’ve got some news that might be of use. We have good evidence that the Warriors of Light are holding Jill.”

Lissa clearly hadn’t expected that. “What? I thought it was some witch who hated Sydney. If the Warriors have her, then this isn’t just about some vendetta anymore. Those people like to kill vampires for fun.”

“It sounds like Alicia gave Jill to them for holding. Now Sydney has a convoluted plan to try to find out where Jill’s being held, but if the Alchemists could put some pressure on the Warriors instead, it’d save us a lot of trouble,” I told her. “The only problem is, Sydney can’t exactly call them up and ask.”

“But I can,” guessed Lissa.

“You’re very charming and persuasive,” I told her. “Plus you’ve got a little bit more influence than we do.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she replied, sounding exhausted at the thought. I didn’t blame her. Diplomacy would exhaust me too, especially when dealing with assholes like the Alchemists. “They’re going to want to know what ‘good evidence’ we’ve got.”

I hesitated, thinking of Sabrina. “We can’t exactly give our source up. Can you just tell them it’s an anonymous tip and have them look into that?”

“I’ll try,” said Lissa. “But you know how they are.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I certainly do. Good luck—and thanks.”

“Nothing to thank me for. Jill’s my sister.”

I disconnected and was just in time to see Sydney drive right past the apartment complex Marcus had indicated. “Hey,” I said, recognizing it from my Carlton days. “You missed it.”