I’d help him out. “There’s a medic who’s taking good care of her.”

He nodded, but a question lingered in his gaze. He peeled at a sticker of an orange tabby.

“She felt terrible about how everything went down,” I told him. “When she realized you’d survived the mine collapse, her entire face lit up. Her eyes watered. She was as into you as you were into her.”

“We’re here for a mission, people”—Selena swept inside—“not group therapy.”

Gabriel was right behind her, watching the Archer—like a hawk.

She assessed me. “You gonna have enough juice for this? Don’t see your glyphs.”

My Empress power gauge. “I’ll have enough.” Since emotions fueled my powers, I feared I’d have too much. “And you?”

Under her jacket, she wore a pistol holster; over it, an arm sling. A sword belt circled her narrow waist. “I got a Glock and a cutlass. Consider my swash buckled.”

Joules barged inside, his skin sparking with anger. AC/DC. “You’re really goin’ to do this?” he demanded of Gabriel. “Infiltrate an enemy camp with a bowless Archer—and an untrustworthy Empress? How do you know she won’t lose her shite and claw you to death?”

Dick.

“Selena has weapons,” Gabriel pointed out. “And I trust the Empress in this.”

Yes, I’d gotten more control of the vicious red witch; didn’t mean it was foolproof. If we failed tonight and I didn’t return with Jack, would she slip the leash?

Oh, man, I really hoped I didn’t murder Gabriel and Selena.

I cleared my throat. “You guys have your bandannas?” The wetted material would serve as a filter against my spores. I hoped.

Gabriel tugged one from his jacket pocket. “And I have Jack’s scent from his tent. But I need to lock on it over there before you deploy.”

“Just let me know you’re ready.” I was acting like I had total command over my powers. No matter how stressful, painful, or lethal the situation grew.

Joules created a spear in his palm, twirling it. “The other side of the river is out of my range, Gabe. You’re goin’ to be on your own. No cover, no backup.”

“I’ve already given my word that I will go.”

Joules sparked brighter. “And I told you I wouldn’t, not without payment.”

“Then we part ways here for a time,” Gabriel said gravely.

“Enough with the bromance!” Selena snapped. “Joules, this area is reserved for people about to do shit. So kindly remove your Oirish arse.”

“One day, Archer . . .” But he did turn to leave, passing Tess on her way in.

“Hey, guys.” She pulled off her hood, smoothing her long mousy brown hair back. “Can I go too?”

I shared a look with Selena, then asked, “Uh, why?”

“I can help you carry Jack if he’s been injured. Selena can only use one arm, and Gabe might be busy.”

When we remained unconvinced, she said, “I let you down before, Evie. I want to make up for it.”

Tess had balked when she’d had a chance to stab Death—but what if she hadn’t? I never would have known the real Aric.

Yet then, had I truly known him? The man behind the armor? “Tess, if you’d gone forward that day, you would’ve been too late. Death was already getting free. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I know I’m the laughingstock of the Arcana,” she quietly said. “But I can’t stop being that unless I do something meaningful. I’m asking. Please.”

Gabriel studied her expression. “She’s going,” he decided. “She can help. Do you have your bandanna?”

Tess nodded eagerly.

Selena raised her brows at the angel. “Do you know something about her powers that I don’t? As in, do they ever work?”

On the day I first met Tess, Matthew had listed some of her mind-blowing abilities. Teleportation, levitation, time manipulation, and more. She was the World Card, the great Quintessence. Unfortunately, she struggled with her gifts.

“She could surprise you, Archer.”

“So she goes.” Selena hiked her shoulders. “You’re in luck, Evie. If we get chased, she’ll be even slower than you are.” To Tess, she said, “You screw this rescue up, and I’ll skewer you with my new sword.” She unsheathed a few inches of it with a threatening look.

Gabriel frowned at that, fluttering his silky black wings. Again, he grimaced with the movement.

“Come clean about the injury, Gabriel,” I said.

“I was shot during a flyover last week.” He stretched out a wing, revealing a bullet wound in that feathery expanse. A hole went straight through the bony part. “I haven’t quite healed yet.”

From last week? So he had rapid healing, like Death and Selena.

“Unfortunately, wings provide a large target. As Joules says, ‘It’s like hittin’ the broad side of a barn!’” An Arcana weakness. “We can wait a couple of days, ladies, or I can take you one at a time tonight.”

“Tonight,” I quickly said.

“The problem is that we go one at a time on the return leg as well.”

“We need to get to Jack, now—hell or high water, and all that.” I turned to Matthew. “Any tips? Anything you’d like to tell me about our mission?”