Page 72 of Secrets of Graves and Gold

We all have to give this attempt everything we have. If it goes well, most of the beings we cut down won’t die, only fly free of the bodies that caged them.

If it doesn’t… I can’t afford to worry about that right now.

Twenty-Two

Ivy

All too soon, the peal of the eighth bell rings through the café. We double-check our equipment and prepare to split up into our positions.

I pause for long enough to kiss Stavros and then Casimir. “I’ll find you in the crowd after the important bit is over.”

Stavros clasps me tightly to him. “Stay safe before anything else. You’re taking your own risks, and we’ll take ours.”

Rheave watches us in his quietly intent way. I go over and give his hand a squeeze because it feels wrong to leave him completely out. “I’ll see you soon.”

He bobs his head. “I’ll fulfill my part of the plan as well as possible. For you.”

We part ways just outside the café, making our journey to the square where our demonstration is going to take place by separate routes. The streets are already starting to bustle with people on foot and horses pulling carts.

At the square, I slip around a shop Voleska pointed out to me and hurry up the back staircase. From the second-floor window, I have an excellent view across the square—the most central and largest in Pima.

Dozens of people mill around across the cobblestones, going in and out of eateries and shops, stopping at the stalls set up here and there, lounging by the fountain. Water streams around the marble statue of Creaden in the center of the pool. The godlen peers down over the square from his high pedestal with an air of benevolent authority.

Finally, a nearby temple bell rings in nine brisk peals. I brace my hands against the window ledge, already picturing how I want to shape my magic.

Two figures leap across the fountain and scramble up the pedestal to the statue of Creaden. Bracing themselves on either side of the marble figure, Voleska drops the canvas from the shield as Emor pitches his voice to carry across the square.

His words resonate loudly enough that I hear them faintly through the window. “People of Nikodi, listen to us!”

That’s my cue. I focus all my attention on the shield in Voleska’s hands and loosen my hold on my power.

My magic ripples out of me and rushes toward the shield. As the force I’m propelling forward wraps around the wooden object, I picture a branch cracking on the old willow tree by the abandoned farm where we borrowed a wagon.

When I lift the shield into the air, the branch falls to the ground.

With the heft of my power, the shield floats above the statue’s head where everyone in the square can see it. A flare of light conjured by one of the rebels’ gifts washes over the civilians—and condenses on the shield to make it glow.

Every gaze in the square jerks toward the spectacle. Gasps and shouts rise up across the crowd.

Emor speaks quickly before the spectators can become overwhelmed with confusion. “My friends! We took Creaden’s shield from the Temple of Divine Grace this morning—just before the Order of the Wild could ruin it. We heard them plotting to destroy this great symbol of our city because they don’t like us having loyalty to anyone other than them.”

A horrified hush sweeps through his audience. He jabs his hand in the air. “The Order says the king has a false claim on the throne, but they’re trying to lay claim over us just like Bryfeen did all those ages ago. Why should we let them? They have no right. They’re just as bad as the rulers they say they hate.”

The murmurs that follow are fraught with tension. The crowd shifts, but no one seems to know quite what to do yet.

And then the moment Emor predicted arrives. One of the scourge sorcerers or a lackey pushes toward the fountain.

“You can’t talk like that,” he hollers. “We’ve freed you from a royal family that only wants to exploit you. Show some gratitude.”

I wind my magic back into my body gradually, letting the shield sink toward Voleska.

As she raises her arms to catch it, Emor pivots toward the newcomer. “You expect gratitude when you want to exploit us just as much so you can be in charge? That sounds like an awful deal to me.”

The instant Voleska grasps the shield, I yank back the rest of my magic and flick my gaze around the square. I can already spot a few more figures shoving their way toward the fountain from the edges of the crowd.

Julita lets out a soft chuckle. Here they come.

No doubt at least one conspirator has raced off to tattle to the head honchos at their meeting. Let them send as many of their forces as they like.

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