“We know,” I say. “Alistair is beingdramatic.”
“Sure.” Callum doesn’t sound convinced. “Idris hasn’t been to this town before, but he can portal you pretty close to the gateway if you want.”
I force a half smile. “We’ll let you know what we decide. Celine doesn’t want us involved in this, but we need to decide whether we’re going to respect that or not.”
Something crashes behind me, and I wince.
Callum squeezes my shoulder. “I know it’s not my business, but if she’s trying to protect you all, maybe you should let her.”
He leaves, and I close the door behind him, steeling myself before facing the others. Luca’s head is bowed; Alistair’s face is twisted; and the love seat is as fucked as the shredded throw pillow.
I sigh. “The way I see it, we have three options: wait here with our thumbs up our asses, wait at the gateway and sulk, or help her.”
“Celine doesn’t want our help,” Ali hisses. “She made that clear.”
I shake my head. “She doesn’t want us going to the celestial realm with her; that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want our help.”
“What can we do?” Luca massages his chest with the heel of his hand. Their bond must be strained by the distance.They may not be fated, but they chose each other, anyway. The magic will punish them both until they’re reunited.
“She wants to find a way to get to Malach. It’s what she’s wanted since we landed in the Fringes and she started screaming bloody murder.”
“She was hysterical,” Alistair mutters. “We all were.”
I scoff. “She told us what she needed, and we didn’t like it, so we hoped she would forget about it. But Celine doesn’t forget, and she doesn’t change her mind. We fucked up by not talking about it, and it’s time we fixed it.”
Luca gnaws on his lip ring. “How?”
“She needs a working gateway, right? We’re going to find her one. If the rumor Joshua told her about doesn’t pan out, we need to be ready with more.”
They stare at me in silence for a long time.
My shoulders droop. I did my best, but it wasn’t enough. I don’t know why I thought they would listen to me. It was stupid to think?—
“You’re right,” Alistair says. “I need a phone and a computer.”
I nod. “I’ll take you to the surveillance room to meet the nerds,then I’ll go talk to Joshua and Idris. I bet they’ve got a list of rumored gateways. Not all intel is actionable, but this is important enough to warrant a file.”
Luca grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard. “This is good,” he whispers. “Except I’m useless. I don’t run an information network, and I’m not part of the enclave. I’m a fucking bartender.”
I kiss him again, nipping at his bottom lip. “Bullshit,” I argue. “You have the strippers, and you have the bond. Call Imani, ask around, and keep track of Celine’s emotions. If she’s in trouble, we’ll step in; otherwise, we keep digging.”
Luca nods, and I force a smile. This plan is risky, but I won’t let Celine down again. She needs a gateway. We’ll find her one.No stone unturned.
FIFTEEN
Unspoken Rule of the Fringes #51:
Nothing burns hotter than best-laid plans.
CELINE
I pull my shirt over my mouth to avoid inhaling the smoke.
Onion didn’t simply break down—she lit up like a bonfire. Flames are curling out of the engine block, licking at the faded paint and swallowing the balding rubber tires in greedy gulps.
“It’s almost impressive,” I murmur.
I managed to pull over before the car caught fire, and we got our bags out just in time.
