“Couldn’t have been easy to pilot her in.” Ash eyed the Dragonfly’s wingspan.
Jack laughed drily. “That’s the beauty of a Dragonfly. She can move in ways that most fliers can’t.”
Ash took a few steps back from the aircraft, trying to get a better view of the whole machine. “And she’s completely intact? No defects?”
“I told you she’s perfect,” Jack replied. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Ash said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe you actually pulled this off.” He hesitated before asking, “Are you sure you’re ready to go back?”
Jack turned away from Ashley and looked directly into the shadows where Charlotte lay hidden, her belly pressed to the cold stone and her chin tucked against the lip of the path. “Why don’t you come over and take a closer look, Charlotte?”
10.
FOR A MOMENT, Charlotte considered running. If she made it back to her room, she’d at least have the benefit of a little more time to come up with an excuse for spying on her brother before he caught up with her. But running implied guilt, and Charlotte was determined to justify her actions.
What right did Ash and Jack have to keep a secret like this, anyway? A Dragonfly? In the Catacombs? Charlotte also stung from Ashley’s implied distrust of his sister; hadn’t she done enough to prove her worth to him?
Charlotte stood up and brushed the dirt from her clothes. Trying to appear unruffled despite Ashley’s glower, she walked slowly down the rock slope to the floor of the cavern. She lifted her chin as she faced her brother. Ash’s features were drawn, his lips thin with rage. Charlotte braced herself, waiting for him to berate her, but Ashley startled her by turning on Jack.
“How long did you know she was there?”
The fury in Ash’s question startled Jack as well. He staggered back a step, spluttering, “I, uh, well, I—”
“How long?”
Jack coughed. “I heard her behind us when we turned into the last passage.”
“And you decided not to say anything?” Ash glared at him.
Straightening his shoulders, Jack stared right back at Ash. “You were going to have to tell her soon enough. You’re a stubborn lout for dragging your feet about it. This way was easier.”
Charlotte watched her brother’s face go white as his fists clenched.
Jack gave Ash a measured look and said, “We can have a good tussle if you want, or you can just accept that I’m right.”
The indecision etched on Ash’s features prompted Charlotte to ask, “What do you have to tell me?”
“Stay out of this, Lottie,” Ash snapped without sparing her a glance.
“No!” Charlotte stepped into her brother’s line of sight. “This is about the homingbird, isn’t it? And why Jack was missing when we left the Heap. Tell me what’s going on! Or are you forgetting that Pocky and I kept you from being a feast for rats while Jack went to fetch this big secret of yours?”
Ash scowled at her, but spoke to Jack. “Are you sure you’re ready for her to know the truth?”
Behind her, Charlotte heard Jack sigh. “I always knew it was coming.”
The strain in Jack’s voice pulled Charlotte around to look at him. Her throat closed when she saw the tightness around his eyes.
“Try not to hate me,” Jack said. “It had to be this way. I didn’t want to lie to you.”
Lie to me? Charlotte’s skin felt cold.
Ash buried his hands in his hair and paced beneath the Dragonfly’s wings. As she heard her brother muttering angrily under his breath, Charlotte began to wish she hadn’t followed the boys after all.
“I didn’t come from the Foundry.” Jack’s voice grounded Charlotte in the present. Despite her sudden fear, Charlotte looked at Jack and nodded for him to continue.
Jack drew a long breath, his next words coming out in a huff. “I’m from the Floating City.”
Laughter bubbled up Charlotte’s throat. The bright sound died when Jack didn’t crack a smile. He waited until she regarded him solemnly.
“You’re serious?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Jack answered.
Charlotte no longer felt anxious. She didn’t feel anything. Numbness curled around her limbs, stopping her breath. She wobbled, and Jack reached out to steady her, but Charlotte jumped back as if his hand were a striking snake.
Then Ash was beside her, his arm slipping around her shoulders.
“Easy, Lottie,” he murmured. “Let Jack tell his story. Trust me—it’s going to change everything for us. For the better.”
Jack cast a grateful look at Charlotte’s brother, then fixed his eyes upon Charlotte once more.
“I left the city so I could find you.” As the words left Jack’s mouth, he paused, frowning, and then said, “I mean all of you. This place. There were rumors that the children of the Resistance had a hideout north on the river. I hoped to make contact, and I was lucky to run into Ash. Well . . . lucky once I convinced him not to shoot me.”
Ash laughed gruffly. “What’s lucky is that you’re a fast talker.”
“That too.” Jack grinned. “Things in New York are going badly, very badly. There are those of us who want to make a change before it’s too late.”
Charlotte shrugged herself away from Ash’s arm. Now that she’d recovered from her shock, a hard rage settled in her bones. Why should she believe the words of anyone who came from the Floating City? They were all enemies, murderers. Nothing more.
“Why would you leave a home where you have everything?” Charlotte spat at Jack. “Who are you?”
Jack offered her a thin smile. “Everything isn’t all you’d imagine it to be.”
“Ugh.” Charlotte didn’t want to look at him. His perpetual arrogance and bravado made perfect sense to her now. Jack didn’t just pretend to think he was superior to the rest of them. He believed it—that was how citizens of the Floating City justified their rule.
“Charlotte.” Ash moved to stand beside Jack. “Stop judging him and listen.”
Charlotte tried and failed to rein in her emotions. Jack’s admission had gutted her in a way she couldn’t explain.
Making an effort to mask her discontent, she said, “I’m listening.”