Natalia had learned the upside of growing up with a genius childhood friend when Melissa muttered, "Murphy's Law," and she didn't need to Goggle it to understand.

And it was true, so, so true, because the curveball she had been stressing about earlier kept spinning until it flattened her at the resort check-in around five in the evening, give or take.

Speaking of being flattened…

After the incident on the Alta green run, they grabbed coffee and something quick from the café, rested for a bit, and then headed back to the snow.

Natalia kept her focus, no surprised face-planting thank you very much, partly (mostly) because Eydis had wandered off somewhere. Being mysterious seemed to be her second nature, so it was expected.

That left Natalia with Melissa and, well, Astra. Why hadn't she followed Eydis? Surely this trip was their honeymoon or something?

Astra didn't ski. She stood at the edge of the slope, arms crossed, staring into the horizon like some anime MC. But every so often, Natalia could feel those red eyes flick back to her. Very occasionally. Like Astra was trying not to be intense about it.

She tried.

People would call that stare cold or frightening. Natalia—strangely, now that she sort of knew Astra better—suspected it was actually protective. Just, you know, from a respectfully stalking, threatening distance.

Thinking back, Astra had always done that.

Natalia breathed out a cloud of white air and buried her face into her ski collar. Seeing Astra gentle made her feel small for ever being jealous. It was confusing, extremely confusing.

She liked being around Eydis and Astra. She also liked the idea that they'd part ways after this ski trip, so she could finally process everything. Because thinking around them was basically impossible.

At least Melissa knew better than to suggest some outrageous dinner plan tonight.

Which made what happened next even more comically and cosmically unfair.

"Most first-time visitors stay in town, but it gets pretty rowdy at night," Melissa explained over the pleasant piano piece as she steered their SUV down the mountain road. "Besides, I thought I'd bring you back here tomorrow so we can spend the whole day skiing. This resort's close and convenient."

"You really planned this out." Natalia grinned. "Thanks, Mel."

"It's always better with good company." Melissa lowered her voice and glanced left. Gold light filtered through the glass roof, painting her face in an almost ethereal glow.

Natalia swallowed. She didn't know why, but it felt intense somehow. "You… say that like you mean me," she blurted out.

A smile curved on the doctor's lips before her eyes returned to the road. "I do. You are, even if you're terrible at balancing."

Natalia felt her face heat at the compliment. Adults were really something. They didn't hold back. "Excuse me, I only crashed twice. Maybe three times."

"Mm."

"Don't say it, Mel."

"You stopped counting after four. If you wanted to imprint yourself into the snow, you could've just said so."

"Now you're being a total meanie!" Natalia whined.

Melissa chuckled. "Hey, I've seen worse. You recover fast."

"Glad I'm only bad." Natalia huffed a laugh.

Come to think of it, Melissa always had a certain… well, loneliness wasn't the right word. She was more like someone who'd grown used to being alone. But during this trip, she seemed happier, even going so far as to invite Eydis and Astra.

Maybe she was starting to want connections again.

Natalia wondered if there was anything she could do to repay Melissa's kindness.

They chatted for a little under half an hour before reaching the resort. The "convenience," as Melissa called it, was a low-rise five-star hotel at Kawarau Village. From there, you could see the town centre and the distant mountain ranges across Lake Wakatipu.

The lobby was actually really nice and cosy, thanks to the orange light burning through the tall windows onto the warm, dark-wood walls. Red velvet couches huddled near the crackling fireplace.

And guess whose rental car had been following behind theirs?

"You've got to be kidding me," Melissa said as they converged on reception. She handed the male receptionist her travel documents while Astra and Eydis were already vibing in front of the other staff member.

"Rude, doctor." Eydis flashed her signature photogenic smile. Just enough canine to be charming and lowkey villain-coded. "At least pretend you're happy. We have, as your generation phrases it, been… on the ice together, recreationally?"

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Astra glanced at Eydis with a raised eyebrow. Melissa gave her a look that said, Really?

"On… on the ice?" Natalia gasped, glancing frantically at the two shocked receptionists behind Eydis. "She means skiing! Skiing. Not the other lab-grown sort!"

If they got kicked out because of Eydis's phrasing, Natalia would totally—

"Your suite is ready for check-in, Miss Astra. Would you like assistance with your luggage?" the female receptionist asked, perfectly calm, as though she had heard nothing at all and Natalia's shoulders sagged in relief.

"We can handle them," Astra replied.

Of course, Eydis and Astra had booked the same resort and the same room type as Melissa—the ridiculously expensive lake-view suite.

Natalia had stopped wondering where Eydis got the money, mostly. Her brain was already in overdrive over this… this Murphy situationship. At least the complex was spread out. The chances of their suites being close were surely l—

"Are you travelling together?" the male receptionist said and tapped his tablet. "Lovely. I can arrange your suites in the same wing. Just a moment and I'll get that sorted for you."

Melissa scowled. "That is absolutely not—"

"—unkind. Thank you for your trouble, Nikau." Eydis leaned slightly over the black stone counter, turning the charm up to diplomatic levels.

Nikau beamed at her, his hand moving faster across the tablet. "Oh, no trouble at all. We'll keep you ladies together. Heaps of space in that wing tonight."

"Splendid. One never knows what danger lurks ahead. We should remain close, should we not?" Eydis joked, or so one hoped. With her, you never knew.

Nikau laughed. "Danger? Here? You'll be right, promise."

Astra seemed to think it over, then nodded. "I agree with Eydis."

"You do?" Melissa looked genuinely surprised. "Fine. I guess paranoia is valid considering..." She stared at her hand.

Eydis grinned and dropped her voice. "It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you."

Melissa glared but traded banter anyway, and yeah, she was having fun because Natalia knew she was a secret film nerd who definitely caught that reference. Because Natalia loved that movie too and had, regrettably, forced Eydis to watch it.

But hello? I disagree. Bad idea! Terrible idea!

Natalia didn't say that though. She seemed to have lost her spine somewhere. She agreed with common sense, which said never tempt fate within earshot of Eydis and Astra.

Still, Natalia pocketed her key card, told herself she was absolutely fine, that nothing was on fire. She snapped her fingers and watched a tiny spark flicker as the air bent with heat, then released a breath.

Well, actually, being on fire wasn't the worst thing right now. Especially with the resort sitting so close to the Remarkables. She couldn't shake the feeling that something powerful was watching her or them.

Maybe Eydis was right.

He ran. Fast. Faster than he had ever moved in his life, yet he could still feel eyes tracking him.

That thing had killed them all. Alone. He was the fastest. He only had to warn someone. Anyone. Called the council. He needed to call the Council. He needed to reach a busier area and called for help.

He cut through a narrow alley and shouldered into a diner. The first thing that hit him was iron. His boot slid across a puddle but he held his balance. A wet, slick quelch followed.

Not a puddle.

He swallowed the vomit down and he tasted blood anyway where he had bitten his tongue.

A click. Light bulbs flared overhead and burned his eyes raw. When the disorientation cleared, he saw what lay around him. Body parts. Smears where there should have been faces.

At the centre of the diner sat a beautiful woman in a red suit and shirt, too formal for the heat outside. She lounged casually, one arm hooked over the backrest, the other toying with a Swiss knife. Her emerald eyes brightened with glee, and she threw the knife without hesitation.

He dodged. The blade sang off the wall, curved, and came back to bury itself in his back like a boomerang.

Pain knocked the air out of him. His knees failed. The woman stood. Her red heels clicked across tile, then blood, then something that had once been a hand.

Close up, the red was a lie. Nothing she wore had started red. She smelled faintly of perfume and copper and something that told his hindbrain to run away and never look back.

She leaned until her long, wavy hair curtained his cheek and purred. "Who do you work for?"

"Wh… why did you kill them?" The question crawled out because there was nowhere else for his courage to go. He had seen too much. He understood, deeply, that he was next.

"Them? You mean your crew. Ten of them. It is a shame they knew nothing."

He gritted his teeth. "These people here, what have they got to do with—" An invisible force clamped his mouth shut and killed his words.

She stared blankly at her knife, not him, then closed her hand around the bare edge until blood beaded along her palm. She studied the droplets with the interest of a child discovering a new toy.

"Ah. These things." She sounded cheerful and let her gaze slide lazily across the blood-stained diner. "You're fast, kinda hard to catch. But the data tells me a cornered rat like you was always going to reach this block. Friday night in LA, they spoke too loud, too many phones tap-tap-tapping, too many variables. I dislike waiting. I dislike variables. So I removed them and waited for you here."

"You really are a crazy bitc—"

He screamed. Her thumb and forefinger were inside his mouth, then under his gum, then something tore roughly. A molar came out hot and slick. Blood spattered the white sleeve she had not yet stained.

"Shh. I meant it when I said I hate loud noise. Now. Who hired you, and who keeps trying to tail us Children?"

"Children?" He did not finish the question. The opposite molar came free with a sound he would hear forever if he had a forever. Tears blurred everything. "Please. Let me go. We are only contractors."

She cocked her head, then sighed. "That checks out."

"Because it's true, the job was anonymous, I didn't even know who you are and please, please… let me go, I'll forget everything."

An incisor tore loose. Pain went white and then louder than white. His ears buzzed. Something rippled through him that felt wrong in a way that was not just teeth, as if a hand he could not see had closed around the wiring inside him.

"Which means you are no use after all," she said.

Her phone rang. She produced a handkerchief neatly, dabbed two fingers clean without looking away, and answered.

He smashed through the shop window and ran.

"Orion speaking," she said, her voice drifting behind him.

He hit the hot summer air, hit the street, hit the alley. At this speed he was faster than sedans. He could go faster. He only had to push. Yes. He could escape.

Faster.

Faster.

Heat climbed under his skin. He tried to slow a little and—

—he couldn't. His mana flared viciously. His flesh began to smell like cooked fat. Muscle fibres unthreaded one by one. The world tunnelled down to the distance between one step and the next, and the realisation that escape was a word he had already run past.

He didn't want to die. He was so close to escape. He had been so close. If he could just—

He looked back.

She was walking, leisurely, and way too close behind him. What kind of Gift was this? Did the one-Gift-per-body rule even apply to her? The smile on her mouth was beautiful and wrong and it made his stomach turned.

The last thread of hope died. His scream died. His body and organ were torn apart by inertia.

"Are you listening, Orion?" said the voice on the line, impatient now.

Orion's lips stretched. She stepped back into the alley and traced his path. The mana he had left behind clung to the brickwork, sweet with panic.

She took a deep breath. "I was playing. What is it?"

"We have a problem in Queenstown. We need you."

Orion stopped. Tilted her head like she was hearing music through a wall. She wiped a pink thumbprint from the phone.

"That does sound like fun."

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