So!” Jack said, clapping his hands and grinning at me. “We ready to go? What’s the transportation plan?”
“I guess I’ll go with Reth, and—”
Lend shouted, “No, you’re not going anywhere alone with Reth.”
“Fine, I’ll go with Jack, and—”
“That doesn’t work for me either.”
I laughed drily. “Okay then, I’ll click my heels together three times and say, ‘There’s no place like the Center, there’s no place like the Center,’ and then magically appear there!”
He was quiet for a few seconds. “You’ll probably be safer with Reth.” It sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth. “And I can keep a better eye on Jack.”
“Well, I for one am thrilled to spend more time with Lend. That’s the top of my Fun Things to Do list. We should come up with a secret handshake!” Jack said, pushing me to the side and throwing the door open, which resulted in Lend falling to the floor immediately unconscious. “Oh, whoops.” Jack smiled, his eyes gleaming. “Too bad, I like him so much when he’s talking.”
“Very funny. Keep him safe, okay? I don’t Raquel’s in the Iron Wing—she would have heard me shouting. Look anywhere you can think of. They might have her in a random room somewhere. We’ll meet in Raquel’s old office in two hours, whether we’ve found anything or not.”
He nodded, not looking at me as he poked Lend repeatedly with his foot.
“And, Jack? That threat Reth made about your hands? I’m going to apply it to Lend, too. Keep him safe. Or else.

Autor: Kiersten White