“Our spies or her spies?” Artemisia asks. “We have both. Our spies are in the capital, but they aren’t close enough to the Kaiserin to have access to any pertinent information about this weapon.”
“But her spies here?” he asks.
“We had a few,” Artemisia says, the corners of her mouth pulling down into a frown. “We were using them to pass misleading information to the capital, but they became liabilities at the Water Mine, so we had to do away with them.”
“But the Kalovaxians don’t know that,” Blaise points out. “We could still send information, pretend it’s from them.”
“Exactly,” Søren says with a brief grin. “We’ll make sure the Kalovaxians think we’re going to the Air Mine. So they’ll set the trap there, like Maile said, but they won’t catch us.”
Maile shakes her head. “It’s still too risky,” she says. “Say we didn’t execute all of the spies. Even if a single rogue missive makes it to the capital…We aren’t a small army anymore, and we can no longer avoid notice like we did before you let yourself get captured, Your Highness.”
The temperature in the room drops several degrees, and Søren’s shoulders tense. I open my mouth to scold Maile, then close it again. Her eyes are alight and fixed on Søren as she waits for his reaction. She’s baiting him, I realize. She wants Søren to snap, but nothing good will come of that, so I clear my throat.
“I have to imagine you have an idea if you’re so quick to shoot down everyone else’s,” I say to her instead.
Maile stands up, approaches the map. She points to the gold-painted star that represents the capital.
“Time is of the essence; you said so yourselves,” Maile says. “So why not stop worrying about them catching us and go after them instead?”
I can’t help but let out a snort. “Because we don’t have the numbers for an attack like that. And besides, they’ll have the advantage of fighting on their own ground, with their own resources. The lookouts at the capital walls will see us coming for miles. We won’t even make it through the gates.”
Maile shrugs. “You asked for a plan—that’s my plan,” she says. “Maybe we don’t have the numbers or the resources, but at least they won’t be expecting it. With a little finagling, we could even trick them into sending the bulk of their troops to the Air and Earth Mines, leaving the capital relatively undefended.”
“That just sounds like more maybes to me,” I tell her, shaking my head. “It’s all maybes. Every choice is risky. So the question is, which option gets us the most?”
“That’s easy,” Maile says. “Take the capital and the war is over. It’s checkmate.”
“Not necessarily,” Søren says. “In your plan, the bulk of their army will be outside the city walls, with thousands of chained Astreans—and now Gorakians—at their mercy.”
“And as we know, the Kalovaxians don’t have mercy,” Erik adds. “I was only two when we left Goraki, but I’ll never forget the sight of them burning it to the ground on our way out. When they get word the capital has been taken, they’ll flee and destroy everything in their path as they go.”
“The Air Mine,” I interject. “That’s the risk that’s worth the most. It’s the clearest path to the palace, so we’ll be able to go there next. Besides, we need healers, and more warriors. That’s where we can get both.”
“It’s the obvious choice,” Maile says again.
“Maybe,” I allow. “But it’s the one that makes the most sense. And we can take precautions to mislead the Kaiserin and her armies. Make them think we’re going to the Earth Mine, or even back to the Fire Mine—we can send them so much conflicting information that they don’t know what to make of any of it.”
“And the Ovelgan estate?” Søren reminds me. “They’ll send word to Cress as soon as they see us.”
I bite my lip, staring at the spot on the map where Søren indicated the estate stood.
“How well do you know the Ovelgans?” I ask him. “How well do they know you? They weren’t at court—I barely heard their name mentioned—but they’re clearly wealthy enough for an estate of their own.”
Søren’s brow furrows. “They don’t like court,” he says, shaking his head. “They hosted me at the estate when I was young, but they didn’t talk about politics. I got the feeling they didn’t want to say anything that would get back to my father.”
“That’s not exactly earth-shattering, is it?” Erik asks. “Everyone was afraid of your father.”
“What if we didn’t approach them as an army?” I ask. “If we approached as a small group there to negotiate passage?”
“You want to negotiate with Kalovaxians?” Maile asks, disgust dripping from each word.
“I want to get us past their estate without the Kaiserin finding out. If they were mistrustful of the Kaiser, I would imagine they’re at the very least ambivalent about the Kaiserin,” I say, looking at Søren. “Do you think it’s possible we could win them over?”
Søren considers it for a moment before shaking his head. “They may not like the current ruler, but they’re still Kalovaxians, loyal down to the bone.” He pauses. “But, I think they’re at least smart enough to hear us out before they make that decision.”
* * *
—
We make plans to leave at dawn, which gives us just enough time to get the injured and those who can’t or don’t wish to fight settled in at the camp, where they will be safe until Dragonsbane can make it down the coast to collect them, and to do an inventory of supplies to decide what to take and what to leave behind. All twelve Water Guardians have decided to join us, adding to the eight Guardians from the Fire Mine, which means that we won’t have to carry water.
As the camp packs up, I lead Erik through the streets. He still leans heavily on me with each step, but at least he’s trying. Heron tied a new strip of cloth around his temples, this cloth bright red, made from one of the Kalovaxian flags that were torn down and desecrated as soon as the camp was ours.
“You’re doing well,” I tell him.
He snorts so hard, he throws us both off balance and I very nearly topple to the ground.
“Sorry,” he says, helping to right us. “It’s just that well doesn’t seem to fit how I feel at all.”
“I know,” I say. “But you’re alive, Erik.”