She smiled sadly. “Maybe he wanted us to decide about him for ourselves.”
“Are you coming?” Erika yelled over the blades of the chopper.
I turned to meet Erika’s eyes, blazing just like his, Arjun still calling me for the journey I never realized he’d chosen for me. We hadn’t found each other; he’d come looking for me. But instead of guilt, I felt only gratitude now. He’d set me on the path to my life. Sure, countless things had gone wrong—for him, me, Imogen, Barnes. How many times had we all failed, only to return to where we’d made our first pivotal mistakes? But how much had been gained? Arjun had given me my children, my family, without even realizing it. Everything traced back to him deciding how he wanted the world to look, at least for a summer. Even if that world had spun so far off its axis it almost shattered, it didn’t mean it hadn’t been therightworld, that it wasn’t still.
“They filmedLord of the Ringshere. It’s very famous ice,” Greta said reverently as the helicopter descended to the glacier below. I saw what looked like a frozen football field, then realized it was a cemetery of snow angels carved into the massive shelf, with five gates to the north. Barnes was smashing each angel with a pickax, tomb raiding while Fortune rested.
We exited the chopper, razor-thin air slashing my throat, the oxygen low. “Welcome to the Franz Josef glacier!” Ecklund proclaimed, draped in a Flintstone-esque faux fur (I know because it boasted the embroidery “Don’t Worry, I’m Fake!”). “Three hundred twenty-three contestants have competed onEndeavor, and these snow angels represent them all. There’s a key buried inside every one, including one unique to each of you. Only your key unlocks your gate, unless you clip—”
“Just give us the damn pickaxes,” I interrupted, desperate to make up time.
Barnes had left slipshod tracks through the snow, disemboweled angels and abandoned keys discarded in his wake. “Is it random?” I asked.
“No!” Erika replied, brightening. She picked up two discarded keys, which had first names emblazoned on bloodred ribbons. “Vanessa’s key, right by Ethan’s.”
“Who’s Ethan?” I asked.
“VanessaFaccelliby EthanFaria,” she whispered intently. “Alphabetical by last name.”
“Still the puzzle master.” I smiled. “Barnes won’t know most of these people, let alone their last names. If we get his key, we have all the leverage.”
“We still need one of ours to move forward,” Imogen reminded. They went to suss out where Bhaduri and Cuthbert fell, while I marched toward the middle, hoping for aG. I cut into a random angel and foundRoyce. Miracle. Someone I knew. Royce Green. Griffin couldn’t be too far away. The next wasWinston, and I racked my brain back to the Amish wisp… Her last name was Hilty. If Green was by Hilty, where was I? Then I realized.
Troy. Before he’d been fired, he had every chance to remove my key while prepping this site, just like he’d done with the puzzle piece in China. He would have dreamed of me rooting around until he discarded the key in the slush. What other traps had he hidden?
I saw Barnes staggering toward the girls. Even Fortune was moving, aware we were congregating in one quadrant. I hurried to Imogen and Erika in the upper-most corner. “Mine wasn’t there,” I wheezed. “A parting gift from Troy, I think.”
“What do we do?” Erika asked.
“Get yours, and I’ll find Barnes.” I prayed Appleby wouldn’t be too far down the row. Within three keys, I discoveredChase. Chase Ankony, the tattooed ghoul. I cracked the next angel’s heart, digging until my gloves found metal. For the first time in ages I was elated to see Barnes’ name,but then Imogen’s cry pierced the air. His key in my fist, I whipped to discover Barnes had hitched himself to the one person he knew I’d never abandon.
Barnes apparently found Erika’s key before we’d even arrived, keeping it as bait for precisely this moment. Clipped together, we hiked across the glacier like a chain gang, Erika leading, then me, Imogen, Barnes, and Fortune. Zara and a skeleton crew shuffled out of frame, a drone whirring as the afternoon sun pulsed. Barnes’ face was already burned bright red, and I imagined mine wasn’t far behind. The silence was a relief until Barnes finally piped up, “$1 million each isn’t a bad outcome.”
“$5 million is better,” Erika said curtly.
“You sure you’re not a Republican?” He smirked. “Come on, can we compromise?”
Imogen groaned. “Barnes, you already lied once today.”
“It was for your own good. You needed to slow down and listen to reason,” he said, voice raspy from the cold. “We can make a deal here.”
“Oh, I remember our deal in Alaska.”
“And didn’t I do exactly what I said?”
“You did,” Imogen agreed. “Precisely so you could walk away with every red cent and make the rest of us chumps in the process, including your own husband.”
“Well, you’re the one who kicked him in the ribs, not me.”
“Both of you, stop,” Fortune said through heaving breaths.
“I promise I’ll protect anyone attached to Luke,” Barnes announced, ignoring him.
“He didn’t say anyone attached toyou, Fortune,” I called over my shoulder. “You really want to stay his muscle? It’s not a good long-term prospect, believe me.”
I noticed Erika abruptly slow as we rounded a rocky outcropping that burst from the ice. Across the whiteness was a network of five different-colored balance beams, all about forty feet long and four feet offthe ground. A lone gate stood nearby, helicopters beyond. We had to be nearing the end…
I stealthily unhooked my carabiner from Erika’s belt, the subtle release of pressure causing her to slightly jump. “Fast as you can,” I whispered. “I’ll get your key.”
