“What the hell was that?” I say.

A deep voice from behind me says, “That was for laughing at me.” It’s Cole.

“How’d you even know I was laughing? You were underwater.”

“I just knew,” Cole says, a twinkle in his dark eyes.

“Well, what about them?” I say, motioning at the other two. “They laughed, too.”

“You were laughing harder,” Cole says, his face as serious as stone.

I shake my head. “Rivet could be right behind us, we shouldn’t be messing around. We’d better keep moving.”

If Rivet and his new gang of men are in the tunnel above us, we never see them, which suits me just fine. I hope I never see his evil mug ever again.

It feels strange being in a moon dweller city again. Although we’ve only been out of subchapter 14 for a few days, it’s the longest I’ve ever been away from the place. I know I shouldn’t be nostalgic but I am. Maybe subchapter 14 hasn’t been particularly kind to me as of late, but I still have a ton of happy memories there, before everything got so messed up.

The other weird thing is that we are just passing through. It feels like after such a long, hard journey through the Lonely Caverns, we should stay awhile, see the sights, try the local fare—I don’t know, something. But that is not an option. We are wanted criminals, our faces known across all the Tri-Realms. There are probably plenty of moon dwellers who will be willing to help us, but we have no idea who we can trust. Someone pretending to be our friend could turn us in a second later, seeking a reward.

We are dripping wet, traveling on the outskirts of town, trying to decide what to do next, when Cole says, “This place hasn’t been bombed, has it?”

We can’t see much from where we are, so I stop, trying to remember the view from above the waterfall. The city had looked pretty amazing, and definitely intact, a far cry from the smoldering wreckage of our subchapter.

“I don’t think so,” I say.

“I hope they stop that dreadful bombing soon,” Elsey says.

“Me, too, El. Me, too.”

“I’m simply famished,” Elsey says.

I’ve been ignoring my hunger for three days now, but suddenly at the thought of food, my stomach constricts, groans, twists up.

“I could eat,” Cole says, opening his pack. It seems like he is always hungry.

“Not that stuff again,” Elsey says. Despite her overdramatic description of the food in the orphanage, she is already growing tired of our canned beans.

“We could all use some real food,” Tawni notes.

“Sure, let’s just waltz into town, looking like we crawled out of a sewer, pop into a café, shove a fistful of Nailins at the owner, and walk out with a bunch of food,” I say.

“For your information, I was thinking of something a bit more discreet,” Tawni says.

I sense the slightest hint of anger in Tawni’s voice, which is unlike her. If she starts getting mad at my misplaced, ill-timed sarcasm, this is going to turn into a long trip. Perhaps it is time to take a risk—for all our benefit.

“I could go steal some loaves of bread,” Cole offers. “I’m good at that.”

To be honest, I’m shocked. Now that I know the true story—that there was no bread, only heartache and pain—I can’t believe he can still make such a joke. To me it’s more proof of his strength. That he can be such a happy, funny, good person, after all he’s been through, is simply incredible. I even manage to laugh at his joke—because I know he wants me to.

Tawni smirks, quickly snapping out of her rare bad mood. “I was thinking more like we wait until nightfall, sneak into the city, and have Elsey pay someone to get us some food.”

“Why Elsey?” I ask.

“Because her face will be less likely to be recognized,” Tawni says, shrugging. “I’m sure she’s been on the news, too, but she’s not a wanted criminal.”

“I don’t know…” I say.

“I’ll do it,” Elsey says. When I frown, she says, “I can do this, Adele. I know I can. Please let me help.”

I take a deep breath. It makes sense and I’m tired of beans, too. “Okay. On one condition: that we stay close by in case you have any trouble.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Elsey says, waving me off as if my suggestion is the most obvious thing in the world.

The cavern returns to its natural shade of black as night falls and the lights are extinguished. The street lights remain on, but barely cast enough light to highlight the roads. We wait patiently in the dark, slowly drying out, until we are sure it is safe. Although I am anxious to keep moving, I actually enjoy the break, and use it as a chance to speak to Elsey.

“Are you okay, El?” I ask. Cole and Tawni have walked away, on a mission to find the least conspicuous way into the city.

“I am now,” Elsey says.

“But before?”

“I tried to be optimistic, like Father always taught us,” she says, wrinkling her button nose. “But I was depressed sometimes. If it wasn’t for Ranna I would have felt so alone, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Tried to run away?”

“Maybe.” Elsey looks at me with a seriousness that is far older than her age. “Do you miss Mother and Father?”

“Of course, El.”

“Oh, so do I. So much I can hardly breathe sometimes.”

“We’ll find them,” I say, making a promise I intend to keep.

“I’m so glad you made friends, Adele. How long have you known Cole and Tawni?”

After hearing how tough things were for her, the last thing I want to do is depress her with my sad story in the Pen, and how, until a few days ago, I’d felt even more alone than her. But I also can’t lie to my sister—never could. “I’ve known them a little while.”

“And Tristan? I know you told me the story, but have you really only been interested in him for a few days?”

“That’s the truth,” I say, feeling silly.

“That’s so romantic,” Elsey says. “Oh, Adele. I really think you two will make a cute couple!”

Now I really feel silly. A couple? If…and that is a big if…Tristan is still alive, I’ll never see him again. And if (there you go, another wild, impossible if) I ever see him again, I doubt very much that I’ll stand out from his other more vocal, more attractive female fans.

“El, I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“Sure, sis,” Elsey says with a wink.

I don’t have a chance to contradict her further, because the others return, excited.

“We found a route that’s pretty dark the whole way to the center,” Cole says, smiling.

They are still thinking about getting real food, but I am thinking about what to do afterwards. We can’t stay in subchapter 16—not with Rivet and his gang roaming somewhere nearby. We need a plan to get to the Northern subchapters, subchapter 26, where my dad is being kept prisoner. Camp Blood and Stone.

“Okay, food first,” I concede. “Then what?” I hate asking the question without having some brilliant suggestion, but I can’t seem to think. Sometimes I feel like I’ve only got two brain cells, and even when I rub both of them together nothing seems to happen. This is one of those times.

“We’ve been talking about that, too,” Tawni says. “And I think we’ve got it figured out. Why do we need to keep trekking through the dangerous inter-chapter caverns, being chased by a gang of bloodthirsty men with a license to kill us, when we could ride all the way north?”

“Ride?” I say. “You mean, like on a train?”

“Of course a train, what else? They have night express trains, direct from subchapter to subchapter. We could disguise ourselves as nomads, cover our faces, and buy a ticket. Even if they recognize us, we’ll be long gone before anyone has a chance to do anything about it.”

The thought of saving us hundreds of miles of walking and getting to my dad faster at the same time is tantalizing. But it also screams suicide. “I don’t know…” I say. “Seems a bit risky.”

Cole says, “This whole thing is risky, Adele. All I know is we’ve got to do something unexpected or we’re gonna get caught. Let’s give it a try, and if we get caught, I promise to let you say ‘I told you so.’”