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have to promise me, if things get bad out there, you’ll come home.”
    Nodding, he released himself from her embrace. She watched as he walked down the dark corridor, never looking back, and then he was gone.
     

     
    Dina crept silently back into her room, pushing the heavy door closed behind her. Taking her spot back on the plush floor rug, she clutched the pillow again tightly to her chest. Releasing the muscles in her body, allowing them to tremble, she began to cry, praying she had not just sent her friend off to certain death. Without the Guardians there to protect him, Dina feared the worst. The hours passed, her cheeks grew tacky as the tears stopped and dried where they fell. Her hopelessness had given way to numbness, an oddly satisfying shift.
    “Dina? Can you hear me? Are you all right?” As things came into focus again, Dina saw Uri standing in front of her, waiving his hands around vigorously. Haim was standing behind him, looking over Uri’s left shoulder at her.
    Realizing her friends were standing in the middle of her bedroom, she quickly sat up. Dina looked at them, a slightly horrified expression on her face. “What are you doing in my room?”
    “We were banging on your door forever,” Uri shouted, annoyed.
    Haim nervously shifted his weight from oversized foot to oversized foot, “We’re sorry, Dina, we were worried about you.”
    Dina hopped to her feet, wiping away the paths of the dried tears that had stained her cheeks. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry, I must have dozed off.”
    Uri scoffed. “You weren’t sleeping, Dina!”
    “What?” Dina narrowed her brows, getting aggravated by Uri’s tone.
    Uri didn’t back down as he continued to argue. “Something is wrong, are you going to tell us?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dina insisted.
    “Fine,” Uri huffed. “I don’t have time to play games. Gabe is gone, have you seen him?”
    “What?” Dina did her best to act surprised. “What do you mean he’s gone?”
    “I mean, I went to his room this morning and he cleared out his stuff. He’s gone!” Uri exclaimed.
    “Maybe he just needs some space,” Dina argued.
    “So you haven’t seen him, fine. Come on, Haim.”
    “Wait! Where are you going?” Dina cried, jumping into their path.
    “We need to get going before the trail gets cold.”
    “No, you can’t! Just give him some time, Uri,” Dina pleaded.
    “I gave you a chance to take care of this. I asked for your help already and now look, Gabe is missing.”
    “He’s not missing,” Dina groaned, reluctantly.
    “What do you mean he’s not missing?” Uri did his best to contain his frustration.
    “He came to see me this morning.”
    “Well, where is he?” Haim asked.
    “I don’t know exactly,” Dina answered.
    “So, he is missing,” Uri insisted.
    “He’s not missing, he needs a break,” Dina argued.
    “A break from what?” Uri grew impatient with the back and forth.
    “From you!” Dina shouted, wishing she hadn’t said it. “Not just you, but from Rampart and everything else. He’ll be back … eventually.”
    “What?” Uri gasped. “You let him go out there by himself? Do you realize Baal’s forces have been spotted in the area? Are you trying to get him killed?”
    “I gave him potions—”
    “Are you freaking kidding me? You gave him potions? I can’t believe what I am hearing from you. Every tracker in the world is after him, Dina! What were you thinking?”
    Realizing the truth in Uri’s words, her heart sank. She feared that she, in fact, had been led astray by Calysta. “I guess I wasn’t.”
    Uri rushed to the door. Looking back at Dina, he said, “You better hope he’s all right when we find him.”
    “I’m so—” Dina’s tear filled apology was interrupted by a blaring siren.
    Uri looked to Haim in a panic.
    “The perimeters!” Haim shouted.
    Before Uri said a word, Dina was suiting up in her leather and armor. “Go!” she shouted. “Find out