Kara wasn’t sure how to feel about the plan. It was the kind of reckless that could go either way. She and Lev were at the bottom of the stairwell leading to the roof now. They didn’t hear any voices from above. So, Jeron either wasn’t there, or he and Teorin weren’t talking.

  Kara took a deep breath and nodded to Lev. It was time.

  Lev pushed open the door, and they both slipped through. Lev paused and pulled her close, like he needed to breathe her in. She let him. If he was doing it now, he needed it.

  Then he pulled back, giving her a quick smile, and darted up the steps.

  She lingered on the first step, out of sight.

  “The cavalry didn’t come then,” Lev said, his voice drifting down the stairwell.

  No Jeron. That was something, at least.

  Teorin must’ve replied somehow, because Lev said, “So what’s the plan now?”

  There was a rustling. “For now, we wait,” Teorin said.

  Kara heard movement, footsteps. She pressed herself against the wall, trying to stay out of sight. The plan was for Lev to get the plant picture out and explain to Teorin what Kara had found about its viable regions. That way, if Teorin was wearing the backpack, Lev had an excuse to get into it and put it somewhere for Kara to retrieve while Lev led Teorin to the far side with some excuse about looking out at the horizon.

  Lev walked forward, leaving her line of sight. Kara took a deep breath and started creeping up the stairs, staying low. This was the tricky part. Lev had to keep Teorin’s focus locked, because the full moon didn’t leave much cover. She waited for the conversation to start up again.

  “You have lipstick on your face,” Lev said coolly.

  Kara froze. Bursts. From the kiss in the alleyway. It had been too dark before to notice the lipstick.

  Silence stretched, then, “Lev, it’s not what you think,” Teorin said quickly.

  Slow footsteps followed. “Really?” Lev’s voice was sharp, angry. “Because it looks like you’ve been kissing my sister.”

  This wasn’t part of the plan. Either Lev was improvising, or he was genuinely furious. Possibly both.

  It had been too awkward to tell Lev. Hopefully, he’d let Teorin explain.

  “Okay. I—we kissed, but it was just a distraction,” Teorin said.

  He didn’t get the chance to finish before Lev exploded. “A distraction? You were being hunted, and that’s how you pass the time? You needed a distraction?”

  There was real anger in Lev’s voice, but he was definitely playing it up. Hopefully, Teorin didn’t notice.

  Kara peeked over the wall. Whatever Lev was feeling, it was working. Teorin was nearly backed to the edge of the roof.

  Teorin seemed disconcerted by Lev’s attack. “No! That’s not what I meant—I didn’t mean that kind of distraction!”

  Teorin went quiet, clearly choosing his next words carefully. His attention stayed locked on Lev.

  The backpack was about ten feet from Kara, still within Teorin’s sightline. Teorin glanced at the ledge behind him, then said, “Look, I kissed her, but it was Kara’s idea.”

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  Lev snorted before Teorin could say more. Kara crept out of the stairwell, sticking to the shadows where the clouds blocked the moonlight.

  “Sure,” Lev said, voice dripping sarcasm. “That’s Kara for you. Meet a guy in the morning, make out by dinner.” He began circling Teorin.

  Teorin pivoted, trying to keep Lev in front of him. Perfect. Teorin’s back was to her. Now or never.

  “Stop interrupting and let me finish!” Teorin snapped, his temper slipping.

  Lev halted. Kara darted forward, careful to make as little noise as possible as she scooped up the backpack.

  “Fine. Explain,” Lev growled, keeping Teorin’s focus.

  Teorin launched into a stammered recap of the alleyway. Lev didn’t interrupt.

  Kara crept back to the stairwell. By the time she reached the door, Teorin was still talking. They’d propped it open with a doorstop. She nudged it wider and slipped through.

  Hopefully, those two didn’t kill each other.

  She sprinted down the hall toward the burstdoor, retracing the path she and Lev had taken earlier. In her head, she rehearsed the steps: press the button for the door, open the backpack, grab the pages.

  A glance over her shoulder, no Teorin. Good.

  The burstdoor opened just wide enough for her to slip through. Lights flickered on automatically as she ran, turning left into a narrow corridor. The scanner stood waiting.

  She loaded the pages carefully, hit scan, and waited as the machine whirred. One by one, the sheets disappeared into the slot and reappeared neatly stacked on the other side. At least the scanner worked.

  Kara saved a copy of the scan to a burstproof memory stick she often wore that doubled as a necklace. She saved a second copy on one of the memory sticks available for public use as a backup.

  That one she’d hide here in the building. A failsafe.

  For a moment, her finger hovered over the upload button. Posting the scan to the net would be simple. Safe. But… what if Teorin wasn’t crazy? If he was even partially right, she’d be shooting herself in the foot. No. She’d study it first, wait a few days. Then she could decide.

  Pages in hand, she slipped them back into the backpack and waited for the burstdoor to cycle. Then she sprinted for the roof stairwell. At the door, she paused. Voices drifted down. Calm. No fighting. Good. She crept into the stairwell, hugging the wall, and carefully lowered the backpack onto the roof below. If Teorin noticed it had moved, Lev would have to improvise, say he’d kicked it or something.

  Then she ran back down the stairs and found a classroom. She stashed the public-use memory stick in the bottom of a file drawer. Dusty. Forgotten. No one had opened it in ages. It would stay hidden.

  Just in case.

  Kara paused in the hallway, catching her breath. A fine sheen of sweat clung to her hairline. She stumbled into the bathroom to make sure she didn’t look like she’d been frantically running and splashed her face, dabbing it dry with a paper towel. Her reflection wasn’t as bad as she feared—hair escaping its braid, but otherwise fine.

  She’d head back to the roof. Hopefully, Teorin would never know what they’d done.

  The bathroom door swung open… then shut.

  Kara froze. No wind. Not this far down the hall.

  Someone was there. Luminar.

  She turned, back against the sink, scanning for any distortions. Nothing. Just empty stalls. Not many people could turn completely invisible. Did that mean… it couldn’t be a Clan member, right?

  She could try yelling, but there was no way Lev would hear her from here.

  “Whoever you are, I know you’re there,” Kara said.

  Silence.

  She glanced at the door. A sprint for the roof might be her best—

  A sharp sting. Like a wasp. Then, a slow, spreading numbness. Kara gasped, clutching her arm. A small red circle was already forming.

  Stun shot.

  Kara just stared at her arm. The panic hit a beat later. She bolted for the door, yelling Lev’s name, desperate for someone to hear. Her legs were numb by the time she hit the door. She stumbled. Footsteps followed from the bathroom. Kara screamed once more with everything she had and then tumbled forward.

  Someone invisible caught her.

  Her head fell against a shoulder. Her hands clawed at what felt like a leather jacket. Her captor began dragging her down the hallway. There was nothing Kara could do.

  The hallway lights flickered out as her captor pulled her into a dimly lit room and left her on the floor. Kara still hadn’t even seen a glimpse. Being invisible while clothed took immense skill. Manipulating light near the skin was one thing. Full invisibility took power, precision, and a prism system. She’d only ever heard rumors it was possible, and they all pointed to one family.

  Da Silva. It had to be a da Silva Clan member.

  Kara’s vision tunneled. The door swung open again.

  Teorin stepped in from the hall.

  Relief surged through her. He’d heard her scream. He’d come.

  But… Teorin didn’t look concerned. He just checked the door, made sure it was shut.

  Kara blinked at him. Something was wrong with his face. Too sharp. Too tired. The lines weren’t right. Or maybe her thoughts weren’t right. Everything felt too slow. Was it the dim light? The chemicals?

  He opened his mouth to say something, but the words dissolved with the world.