Jasper returned, putting a halt to the conversation. She’d turned her ponytail into a simple updo and finished the look with a pair of fake glasses. But even with the businesswoman look, it was hard to believe she could be much older than she claimed.

Thea snapped pictures for the team’s ID badges, and then they were off. Grace was a little less jumpy on the walk back to the parking garage, but she still found herself nervously eyeing strangers who passed by a little too close for comfort.

“Mia, get me the fastest route to Starchatter offices,” Jasper said as the team climbed into the car. Grace once again found herself in the passenger seat.

“Head north toward Skyway G,” Mia said.

“That can’t be right.” Jasper tapped the top of the sphere she’d nestled into the car’s console. A holoscreen map popped up. “Mia, I meant the closest office. Why would I want to go to a building on the other side of the planet?”

“Head north toward Skyway G.”

Jasper rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I know a way.” She slammed her foot on the gas, and they shot through a short tunnel onto the road, where they narrowly missed another car. The driver honked.

“Rerouting,” Mia said.

“No, Mia, end the route.”

“Make a U-turn.”

“Thea, could you turn Mia off for me?” Jasper asked. “Pretty please?”

“Me?” Thea replied, glancing up. “The sphere’s right next to you. End the navigation with that.”

“While I’m driving? That seems a little dangerous.” Another car honked as Jasper made a less-than-legal left turn onto a skyway on-ramp.

“So, you want me to hack into your smartsphere from three feet away and turn the program off?”

“Yes.”

Thea sighed but typed something on her tablet. Grinning, Jasper pushed the gearshift forward. The car cut across five lanes of traffic and crashed through a flimsy construction barrier. The accompanying thud wasn’t nearly as loud as Grace had expected.

She could only assume the vehicle was, like most that flew around the upper districts, paneled with galaxium that could take a much harder hit before denting. It was expensive to make cars and aircraft that didn’t dent while simultaneously keeping them safe for passengers. When you wanted to make something cheap safe, you made it crumple.

As the car soared off the edge of the unfinished skyway, Jasper flipped a switch to activate the thrusters. “How close do we have to be for you to get into Starchatter’s system?” she asked Thea. “I’d like our badges to be ready when we arrive.”

“Already on it,” Thea replied. “We do need to figure out parking. We can’t access their garage without the badges. I’m not sure how long it would take me to fool the system without setting off any alarms.”

“That’s fine,” Jasper said. “We’ll just have to walk. And by walk, I mean do some light parkour.”

“How do you expect Grace to do that?” Holly asked. “She has no training.”

Jasper shrugged. “She has wings.”

“So?”

Grace lifted her chin. “I can do it.”

“It’s not as simple as sneaking in through a window,” Thea warned. “Avoiding people and cameras usually requires quite a lot of jumping and climbing.”

“I’m more than just my wings,” Grace replied. “I’ve got super strength and endurance, too.” Not that she had much experience testing her abilities, but she had to start somewhere.

“That’s the spirit,” Jasper said cheerfully. After a moment, she added, “Of course, a couple of us could go in ahead, grab the badges, and come back. Then we could all go in the main entrance.”

That did sound easier, but Grace felt too awkward to back down now. Besides, if she couldn’t do something as simple as following the team into an office building, how was she supposed to survive the next few—days? Pentasols? Seasons? Oof. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be stuck with these people longer than that.

Grace caught Holly’s annoyed expression in the rear-view mirror, solidifying her decision. “No, we can all go together,” she said. “I don’t want to waste time.”

“Great.” Jasper pulled back the gearshift. They jerked to a stop, then dropped a solid ten feet. The car thudded against the ground, bouncing slightly.

Grace tried not to look apprehensive as she climbed out of the car. They’d landed on a rooftop near the city’s upper limits. It took a moment of scanning to spot the dark blue dome of the Governor’s Palace in the distance. Her and Jasper’s team were too far west of it to be in the Sky District. They were probably in the Prism District, now.

Jasper walked to the edge of the roof and pointed at the bronze building next to them. “That’s the one. Thea, which window do we want?”

“We’ll have to go through a few rooms.” Thea examined her screen. “Best route starts there.” She pointed. “Three over from the right side of the building, two up from the walkway.”

Jasper looked at Grace. “You sure you can do this?”

Grace pulled off her jacket and let her wings out. The breeze felt incredible, and it was a pleasant distraction from her from her nerves. “I think I can manage getting to a window.” It came out snarkier than she’d intended, and she immediately regretted it.

To her surprise, Jasper laughed. “Great. Follow me.” She backed away from the edge of the roof, rolled her shoulders, and tipped her head to each side to crack her neck.

Jasper broke into a sprint. The others followed. One by one, they disappeared over the side of the building.

Grace scrambled to the edge and peered over. Jasper, Holly, Thea, and Dax were balanced on the railing of a balcony below. Mind blank, heart pumping, Grace stepped off the roof to follow. Her wings expanded and slowed her descent. Her right side ached a bit, but besides that, everything worked fine.

She landed harder than she’d intended and had to wave her arms to keep her balance on the railing. Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice.

Jasper assessed the gap between them and the next building. She leaped and grabbed a metal beam supporting one of the overhead walking bridges. Her body swung forward. She let go.

Grace’s stomach lurched as Jasper fell ten feet, only to grab hold of a hovering billboard that drifted back and forth between the two buildings. Jasper let it carry her toward Starchatter. The other three followed her path, using other thruster-powered billboards to make their way over the gap.

Wings at the ready, Grace hopped off the railing and glided down to a billboard advertising new flavors of Nova Cora. Once she’d steadied herself on top, she looked to Jasper.

Jasper reached up as the billboard she clung to slowed and prepared to move back the other way. At the last possible second, she jumped to a walkway support beam. She pulled herself up and moved from beam to beam until she could climb over the railing.

Grace waited until her own billboard was as close to the building as it was going to get. Then, forgoing the complicated climb up the interlocking metal beams, she soared over the other three and landed on the skywalk next to Jasper.

Grace glanced around at distant pedestrians while she folded her wings up and pulled her jacket back on. No one appeared to have noticed her quick flight.

A thought struck her. “Has Starr said anything about me in the news?” she asked.

“He’s kept his statements vague, but he has asked anyone who sees you to call the police. Just don’t let anyone get a super close look at your face.” Jasper abruptly leaned toward Grace and stared with an intensity that made her heart skip. “Then again, Holly did pretty good on your makeup. I wouldn’t worry too much.”

The others came over the railing. Jasper led the way toward their target window. “Finally, a chance to use my grappling hook,” she said, a hand moving into her coat.

“Actually, the windows are connected to the building’s computer system,” Thea said. “They’ve got some stupid app that people can use to open their office window from their smartsphere. Anyway, I can open the one we want remotely, and it’s low enough for us to get up without help. Screen should be easy to pop out, too.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Jasper’s hand dropped as the group came to a stop beneath the window Thea had pointed out earlier. It was close enough to the skywalk that Grace doubted even she would struggle to climb through it.

Thea fiddled with her tablet for a moment, and the window slid open. “Move quick. If I don’t close it fast enough, the security system might flag it.”

Jasper jumped and grabbed the bottom of the windowsill. With a grunt, she pulled herself up, kicked the screen in, and disappeared into the building. Holly went next, followed by Dax, then Thea. Grace flew the short distance up to the window and followed them inside.