Page 126 of A Song of Ash and Moonlight

I sighed. It was the right thing to do, and yet the thought of Father at my side during such a mission left me uneasy. “I suppose. If we can’t have an army, at least we’ll have him.”

Mara looked at me keenly. “Do you really believe what you said earlier? That his temper could be a liability?”

“To be perfectly honest, when it comes to Father these days, I don’t know what to think. He’s at his best when he’s fighting.” I smiled sadly. “Maybe this will give him the outlet he’s been craving since we all stopped trying to kill each other.”

Another silence fell. The nameBaskhung in the air, and suddenly I found it hard to swallow past the dull pain in my throat.Ryder.I closed my eyes.Ryder, hold on. Gareth, stay strong. We’re coming.

After a moment, Gemma asked, “Do you think Kilraith knew Mother was here when he sent that invitation?”

“If he didn’t before, he does now,” Mara said. “That invitation was a spy. Hopefully Wardwell’s magic remains strong enough to hide her.”

“He may have realizedKerezenwas here,” I mused, “but not who she is besides that.”

“In other words, he may not realize whoweare,” Gemma added. “Whatwe are. Though he may suspect, or at least wonder.”

“Hence the invitation,” Mara said, nodding. “He wants to observe us, test us, show us he’s not afraid. We beat him once. Can we do it again, now that he has a god to use as a weapon? What’s the limit of our strength?” She began to pet Osmund at last. “Once he has his answer, he may strike to kill.”

“Or he’ll tell Jaetris to do it,” Gemma said darkly. “Maneuver him into our minds and makeusdo the killing for him. Just as he did to Talan.”

“So we’ll keep surprising him,” I said. “We’ll keep him guessing, entertained, distracted.”

“And while he’s distracted, we’ll find the egg.”

“If the egg in fact exists,” Mara pointed out, “and if its function is what we think it is.”

“I choose to believe it does,” Gemma said, “and that our suspicions are correct. It makes too much sense not to. So we’ll destroy it, break his hold on Jaetris and thereby his hold on everyone else.”

Mara made a thoughtful noise. “It’ll be a shame not to be able to study the egg as we’ve done with the crown.”

“But anything that’s been used to control a god…” I said.

“Exactly,” Gemma agreed. “Itmustbe destroyed. Hopefully we’ll be able to gather any information we need by questioning the freed prisoners.”

Right away, I thought of the harpy, Nerys, and the ruthlessness on Mara’s face as she’d interrogated her. An awkward silence fell.

Mara met each of our gazes evenly. “You’re thinking of Nerys. She’s still alive, you know, kept under tight guard. It’s a drain on our resources, and the Warden wants to execute her, but I won’t allow it.”

I bit my tongue, thinking that Mara had allowed quite enough to happen to Nerys. I lightly touched the pocket of my dress, inside which Ankaret’s feather rested. I hadn’t used it that day to help Nerys, and I’d regretted it ever since.

Mara considered Osmund’s silky ears, petting each one with reverent care. Whatever she felt about Nerys, she kept it well hidden. “‘A storm that sometimes lives in the walls,’” she murmured. “And he took the form of a bird while attacking the capital?”

“Among other things, yes,” I answered.

“Hmm. Where do birds keep their eggs?”

“In their nests,” Gemma answered, frowning. Then her face lit up. “The palace in Mhorghast. He’s hidden it there, and part of him lives in the walls, guarding it.”

“It’s onlypossiblethat it’s there,” Mara said. “We can’t know that for sure. And we don’t know where in the palace it would be. It seems a good place to start, at least, but it will be well guarded.”

“Jaetris could be there too,” I guessed. “All Kilraith’s most valuable treasures, tucked away where he goes home to roost.”

“He’ll do everything in his power to stop us before we get that far,” Gemma said. “And he’ll want to separate us. The last time we faced him, all of us together, we bested him.”

Barely, I thought, with a frisson of fear that I pushed past with no small effort. “So we’ll not let each other out of our sights,” I said. “That way, if someone starts to stray, the others can reel them back in.”

“Which may be difficult. He may want to play a game, but he’s not a fool. He’s dealt in lies and cruelties for longer than any of us have been alive. The stories Talan has told me…” Gemma shuddered. “At his core, he’s impatient, capricious.”

“And boastful,” Mara added. “Everything you’ve told us of Mhorghast, Farrin, screams of decadence and swagger. In such pride lies the potential for great error.”

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