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can take me now.
    “Guys! Quit being so helpful, okay?” she says with a grin as she takes a step forward.
    I expect her to force the advantage, but instead she blows past me and runs down the stairs toward Nobel’s workshop.
    “Oh man. I hope you don’t have anything important in there.” The last time we sparred in the lab we almost destroyed a cabinet full of rifting tech. I cringe at the memory of the three-day clean-up duty.
    A look of near panic crosses Nobel’s face and he jerks his head. “Go get her.”
    I chase her, grabbing two sai from the crowd like a marathon runner grabbing a baton.
    “Really, guys?” I say, blowing past them. “Sai against a sickle? Thanks.”
    The stairwell is narrow, steep, and empty all the way down. I look back as our audience begins pressing itself into the stairwell.
    Slowly slinking down the spiral stairway, I take one step at a time with my back to the outer wall. Stein likes to scale things, so I scan the rafters as I go. Walking down these steps is like entering a tomb that’s been sealed for thousands of years. Why Nobel keeps his lab down here is beyond me.
    “Stein, where are you?” I call out.
    I kick a small rock down the stairs to see if I can draw her out. No luck. I hold the sai out in a defensive position and keep descending.
    Once I clear the stairs, I enter the short hallway that leads to Nobel’s lab. Fortunately, he leaves a light on outside the doorway. With a quick hand in the air, I stop the crowd following behind me. A soft chorus of disappointed groans follows me as I inch forward.
    “Stein?”
    I creep along the hallway expecting Stein to drop down on me any minute. There’s no place to hide in the hallway except the rafters. I reach the end, where Nobel’s lab door is normally locked. It’s made out of ornate wood, with a brass owl perched on the top of the door’s molding. The door is ajar. I give it a gentle push and carefully step inside. The room is mostly dark, the only glow coming from a Bunsen burner on the corner table. The dark-blue bubbling liquid suspended above it stinks of rotten eggs. Not exactly romantic candlelight, but it’ll do.
    “Stein? You can’t hide from me forever, you know.”
    “I’m not hiding,” she says. I follow the sound of her voice to a large cabinet full of chemistry glassware in the corner of the room. Just as I fling the doors open, rattling the jars, I hear her add, “I just wanted to get you away from the crowd, so I could do this—”
    Too late, I see that she’s crouching on top of the cabinet. She drops, taking me by surprise as she knocks me to the ground and pins me to the floor. The sickle is gone, but she’s pressing her forearm into my throat. Just when I think I’m going to have to tap out, she leans forward and kisses me. Relaxing, I let the sai drop to the floor and wrap my arms around her. She smells like cotton and grease and metal, and even though we’ve been sparring, her bare skin is cool to the touch. When she pulls away, I sigh.
    “Do you submit?” Stein asks with a huge grin.
    “Um, no,” I say and rear up, flipping us over so she’s pinned beneath me. After a short struggle, I have both of her hands pinned over her head. As strong as she is, my weight is too much for her. Leaning forward, I press a kiss to the hollow of her neck. “You give?”
    “Never,” she says, squirming. I bring one hand down and hold her by the neck. She squeezes her eyes closed, her body tensing beneath me. It only takes me a second to realize something is wrong and withdraw my hand.
    “Hey, are you okay?” I ask, rocking back on my feet so I’m perched over her legs but no longer touching her.
    She shakes her head and blows out a long breath. Slowly, she rises up so she’s on her elbows, half-sitting.
    “Stein? What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing. I’m fine.”
    I stroke her hair and tuck the strands behind her ear. “You’re lying.”
    She finally reopens her eyes. “No really, I’m