Page 117 of Claiming Glass

“You’re the voice,” a woman my age said. “The one in my head.”

“This is a private party,” a man said, as he wrapped her protectively in his arms, others grumbling in agreement. “We know nothing.”

“Have you seen a rope?” I got only deserved blank looks in return.

My mind, stretched to know what was happening in the palace, struggled to form the necessary lies.

Pyre stepped forward, spreading his arms as if greeting friends. “The girl left a rope hanging here a month ago. Don’t be scared now. We just need a little light.”

When the blue mage light appeared at his side, Lumi lifted my arm so that we pointed together. Perhaps her Spirit eyes saw better in the night than daylight. I knew she only intended to direct my attention, but our magic ran wild—the wall inside me broken, her archive unraveling—and she appeared at my side.

The man fell to his knees, dragging the woman with him. Their friends and family followed, all speaking over each other.

“Goddess, spare us.”

“It’s her.”

“It was real.”

“I felt her die.”

“They’re one.”

“One.”

The words rang out over the city as a fire rose in the distance, and inside me, a chorus screamed.

The fire was not the wild thing of a month ago. We had planned for it, as much as anyone could in one day. If the mob broke through the guards at the food warehouse, Popova’s people would torch it. Hopefully, it was the lesser evil, but the memories of smoke and terror were too close for many and the fear covered Tal like a miasma of insanity.

Through Lumi, I knew new Spirits rose in Gateways. People were dying. Instead of grieving, I hoped Ealhswip would not get to them before Morovara steered them to the temples. Later, I would mourn.Please, Goddess, let there be a later.

A cold grip squeezed my wrist.

I blinked back to the roof.

People were on their knees before us. Popova’s people seemed equally unsure what to do.

Lumi still held my arm raised. I followed its path.

One of the strings holding the lanterns up continued into the dark all the way to the wall.My rope.

Lana had supplied it for breaking into the king’s chambers. I knew my stepsister always chose good quality.

“We’re going up. Do you have more rope we could borrow?” I asked. Might as well make use of their amenability. We could tie them together to get down on the other side. And you could never have too many ropes.

While some helped Maksim and Orso remove the lanterns, others brought every string they could find.

Lumi and I gave up on helping when for the third time someone threw themselves to the ground as we approached. It was fast and still too long before I climbed the wall, two laundry lines tied around me, golden dress hiked up and using a tilted table as stepping stool to reach the rope. At least I still wore trousers underneath.

No breeze disturbed the summer night, the heat pressing down. I wished for gloves the third time my sweaty grip slipped an inch.

When I reached the top edge and heaved myself on top of the wall, my hair stuck to my forehead and arms shook. I had not climbed much the entire summer. Life under Kirill had been hard, but it had kept me in shape. I was flagging before we even reached the Women’s Tower.

While I unwound the laundry lines and tied them together, Maksim, surprisingly nimble, scaled the wall.

Orso came next, cursing twice for each inch climbed. As a safecracker this was most likely not his first wall, though probably the highest despite starting from the roof below.

Pyre slid twice before he made it.

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