Page 85 of Ash and Feather

Given all this, the area was well-protected, overall—save for one unfortunate feature: There were an astonishing number of tunnels that crisscrossed beneath it.

Some were natural, a vast network of beach caves that started along the shores of the peninsula, weaved throughout it, and reached for several miles inland. Others were manmade extensions of those caves that had been dug out decades ago. They provided an extra place to hoard supplies, or even to hide people. A few were long enough, and strategic enough, to provide relatively safe, secret routes in and out of the region. Useful in many ways—but they also created a weakness that could be exploited.

Most of the caves had been closed off in recent years, Dravyn told me, because their potentially vulnerable points outweighed their possible benefits.

I knew Cillian, though. He didn’t need much to work with to get his job done.

Ifanyvulnerable point remained, he would find it—and he would know the exact weapon to use to bring it crashing down.

As the four of us made our way through the forest of towering pines on the outskirts of the training compound, my mind raced with memories of all the things I’d watched Cillian destroy over the years.

Soon my lungs were burning, my eyes watering, as if I was standing once more in the rubble and dust of one of his explosions.

Dravyn spoke quietly as we darted through the trees, briefing us again on the things he and Valas had discovered previously.

I wiped the moisture from my eyes and tried to hang on to his every word, letting those words pull me away from thoughts of exploding and collapsing things.

“We spotted two encampments during our last visit,” he was saying, “one to the north of the Greyveil Peninsula, one to the south. There may be more scattered about. But Cillian was in the northern one, so that’s where we’re heading. Not far, now.”

To our right, we often caught glimpses of the sea and its ships, as well as the occasional outline of walls and battlements, of high watchtowers and drably-colored, sprawling garrisons.

Dravyn knew the area fairly well, as he’d spent some time there with his father and older brother, making inspection rounds and getting first-hand reports from the officers. He’d never taken part in the actual trainings that went on, but he could answer most of my questions about what we were seeing—even the questions I didn’t ask out loud—which helped me map out our surroundings and plans, calming my nerves somewhat.

After a few minutes we veered away from the sea. The ground grew more hilly, the trees thicker. We reached the crest of a particularly steep slope and paused. Valas pointed at something far in the distance. Squinting, I could just make out the tiniest glimmer of light through tightly twisting tree branches.

“Lantern light?”

The four of us crept toward it.

We came to a group of guards before we reached the light, but we disposed of them quickly and silently; Mai used her magic to control the very breath in their lungs, holding it until all five of them slumped into unconsciousness.

“I sometimes forget how efficiently you can kill,” Valas told her, eyes widening slightly. “It’s absolutely terrifying.”

He sounded like he was complimenting her, but her gaze was fierce as she snapped it toward him and whispered back, “I didn’t kill them.”

I wondered how many shehadkilled in the past, suddenly realizing I didn’t know much about her ascension. She was a master of control, now, but had she been a monster in the beginning, too, like so many of the other Marr? A slight chill swept over my skin.

Now wasn’t the time for that conversation, maybe.

“It’s still quiet,” Dravyn commented, motioning to the camp ahead of us.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Mai asked.

I tentatively agreed, though I shouldn’t have. After years of rebel missions alongside Cillian, I knew the calmness before an explosion all too well…how quickly things could go from absolute stillness to total madness.

We moved to a better vantage point where we could size up the camp in its entirety. It was small, but tightly packed and buzzing with activity. Like a hornet’s nest.

“So Cillian is likely here somewhere…” I began.

“The question iswhere?” Valas wondered. “We probably shouldn’t go person to person inquiring about him. That might look a touch suspicious.”

“And we need to move quickly,” Dravyn added. “It’s only a matter of time before someone notices that their watchmen are unconscious and stuffed in the bushes.”

We considered the problem for a moment before Mairu offered a solution. “If one of us creates some sort of commotion, it will likely draw their leaders’ attention, if only briefly.”

“Flush them out, you mean?”

“Exactly.”

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