Page 129 of The Girl Who Only Died Once

It takes Chloe over an hour of piecing through the detritus to find the slag of a cage that still pings with traces of the spirit fox, all the while Killian nudging his way through the leftover magic, teasing out the same strand of power, now so familiar that it’s annoying.

“Same person?” Chloe asks, sitting back on her heels, and even her sweat smells like ash.

He nods, staring down at it, a wrinkle across his nose.

MAISON (8:05 PM):Do you two destroy a base in Russia?

CHLOE (4:05 AM): No, but we saw the aftermath.

CHLOE (12:32 PM):Hey, how are you doing? It’s been a few weeks? How’s Ambra? Everyone settling in?

AMBRA (1:46 PM):He says he’s still not talking to you.

The scrolls takethem to a remote office building in Australia, empty but for the pristine row of stasis chambers, and Killian destroys them one by one as Chloe ties the new trace to her compass.

That night, he shakes in bed next to her, his muscles trembling from something between fear and rage, and Chloe wraps her arms around him and tucks her head against his shoulder.

They’re leaving a base—astill thriving one, one they snuck in and out without tripping any alarms—and tromping back to a safe distance away, when Killian tenses, his shoulders tightening, and he swings Chloe behind himself with barely a warning.

And there, right on the other side of the teleportation barrier, stands Ambra, her chin tucked down and her brows raised.She’s wearing the round sunglasses, but they’re tipped down low enough on her nose that her eyes flash red.

Killian and Ambra stare at each other, long and hard, before Chloe tugs herself out of Killian’s grasp, joy bubbling up unbidden in her chest.

“Are you safe?” Ambra blurts out, before Chloe has a chance to say anything. “Is he hurting you?”

Killian bristles, but Chloe can’t help but smile at her friend.

“No, I’m fine, see?” Chloe says, opening her arms wide, and Ambra just squints at her, and Killian makes a noise deep in his chest before Chloe takes the last few steps and wraps Ambra into a hug.

Ambra freezes, just like she’s done the last three times Chloe’s tried to hug her, her spine locked straight, before she awkwardly pats Chloe’s back and pulls her arms out from the embrace.

The hair on the side of her head is longer now, almost an inch and a half in length, and sticks out at an awkward angle, and she still has circles underneath her eyes, but her shoulders are straight and her mouth twitches into the familiar almost smile.

“Why are you here?” Killian asks, his voice deep, and even Chloe can’t miss the thin thread of a threat.

Ambra eyes him, then deliberately turns to Chloe. “First, everyone’s okay, Gurlien’s fine, nobody’s hurt.”

Chloe nods, familiar with Ambra’s way of giving information, and Ambra briefly grips her by the shoulders.

It’s as close to a hug back that Ambra will ever give with anyone but Gurlien, and even as tired as she is, even as prickly as she feels she might be, it warms Chloe’s heart.

“What is it? Chloe asks, dipping her voice down in case it’s something that nobody wants to divulge to Killian. “What is it that you couldn’t text me?”

Ambra absentmindedly pats her on her arm, like she’s being reassuring but hasn’t quite grasped it yet, leaving Chloe feeling an awful lot like she’s a child being managed.

“Ambra…” Chloe starts, before Ambra’s eyes snap back over to Killian and it’s an instant glaring contest.

Killian’s also glowering, his arms crossed, a crease between his eyebrows, but neither of them say anything.

Neither is there power swirling around the small clearing, so they’re not attacking each other.

Chloe swallows, attempting to read Ambra’s face, but she’s still, her mouth set in an unhappy little scowl.

Killian glances at Chloe, once, a quick flicker of his eyes, and in that flicker there’s frustration, fear, and something far deeper, something she’s not quite seen on his face before.

Almost by instinct, Chloe steps away from Ambra, one big giant step in the middle of the clearing.

“Woah, okay,” Chloe says, and both the demons look to her, finally, to the wind fluttering her jacket amongst the leaves. “You said you knew each other.”

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