“I thought I banished you,” I grumbled.

“You thought wrong.” He patted the space next to him, inviting me closer.

“Not even in your dreams, Tohon.”

He tsked. “Nasty. Kerrick’s influence, no doubt. That man really needs to die. He’s been...so close.” Tohon sighed. “At least he’s not here to disturb us, my dear.”

I ignored him.

He laughed. “And you left poor Ryne to deal with all the nasties to save one girl.”

“We’re going to rescue them all,” I shot back.

“Now who’s being overconfident?” He linked his hands together and rested them on his chest. “You might as well just stay here, my dear. It’ll be safer.”

Unable to resist, I asked, “Why?”

“The Skeleton King wants to taste you, Cellina wants to tear you apart, and Ryne wants to chain you to the infirmary. Here they just want you to pray.”

“I don’t believe in the creator.”

“Then pray to me, my dear.”

* * *

When I woke the next morning, no brilliant ideas had struck me while I slept. However, if desperate, I could point Melina out to Odd and have him take her to the crypt on a trumped-up infraction. If I could find her. But that plan felt wrong. Maybe Odd would have an idea.

I lingered behind at breakfast, letting the others file out. Odd signaled me and this one I knew. All set?

I shook my head. He scowled.

When the room emptied, he fisted the collar of my robe and pushed me against the wall. “What’s going on?” His voice hissed in my ear.

“Change of plans.”

“Time’s short. She’s close.”

Only one she—Estrid. I told him what I hoped to do. “We can’t leave them.”

“You. Are. Insane.”

“They’ve been training. We just need weapons.”

“You need to reconnect with reality. It’s impossible.”

“Use the sleeping powder I gave you on the guards.” I knew that container I swiped would come in handy.

“It won’t take them all out.”

“Better than none. We have to try.”

He groaned. “When?”

“After supper before we’re locked up for the night.”

“Give me a couple days.”

“Do we have a couple days?”

“It’ll be tight. I’ll signal you at breakfast when we’re set. Make sure the women are ready.”

“I will.”

* * *

As I knelt and stared at the stained-glass ceiling, I planned how we’d incapacitate the tower guards. An all-out riot wouldn’t work—too noisy. Better to have small units striking at the same time. Half-forgotten memories of conversations between Ryne and his officers flared to life. Ryne had stressed the three key elements in a successful attack were surprise, speed, and intensity.

A familiar female voice startled me from my planning. Oh, no. I snuck a quick glance in the direction of the commanding tone. Jael. She walked with two priests. What was she doing here?

“Yes, I’m very excited the High Priestess is returning,” Jael said not sounding excited at all. “And I want to make sure all is well for my mother-in-law’s arrival.”

Murmurs of assurance from the priests. The desire to hide pulsed in my chest, but I remained in position to keep from attracting attention.

“Are all the penitents healthy?” Jael asked.

“Yes, General,” one of the priests said.

General, eh? With Estrid and her officers trapped and then frozen in stasis, I’d bet no message of Jael’s deceit had been sent to Chinska Mare. So this was where Jael’s been hiding. Smart, very smart. But now that Estrid was returning... What did that mean for Jael?

“Are they fed and bathed regularly?” Jael asked.

“Yes, General.”

“And this is where they pray all day?”

“From sunup to sundown.”

“I want to see their sleeping quarters, and then I’ll take a look at your schedules and the books.”

“Of course, General. Right this way.”

Their footsteps faded and I bit my lip. Jael’s presence complicated things. Big-time. Her powers could ruin all my plans. Or could it? She had told me she could only affect a dozen people at a time with her air magic. She would increase the danger, but we couldn’t stop now.

For the first time since I’d been in the monastery, the day flew by. After we returned to our towers, I explained everything to Fydelia. Her smile grew as I talked.

“No guarantee that this is going to work,” I said. “And now we have General Jael to worry about.”

“We’ll make it work,” she said. “I already have teams in each tower.”

“You do?”

“I told you, we’ve been training for a long time. And we’ll keep the attacks quiet.”

“You won’t have weapons until Sergeant Odd shows up with his men.”

“Not a problem. All the tower guards have are their reeds. I just could never figure out how to get past the next barrier without weapons.”

“I want to be a part of tower ten’s strike team,” I said.

She studied me. “Do you know hand-to-hand combat?”

“I have the hand-to-hand thing down. Don’t worry, I can hold my own.”

Fydelia didn’t appear to be convinced. I told her about my powers.