Several moments of silence passed where I felt the woodsy sensation surrounding me. We can try the way we planned to get in.
Through the mines?
Yes. We can try to access them. Or…
My heart thumped heavily. They’ll expect that. There must be a better way.
Fight our way out.
I stopped at the window, staring across the capital. I’m not sure that’s a better option.
Fighting will be our only option no matter what, Kieran reasoned. Either through one of the gates or from inside the Rise and into the mines.
We hashed it out, going back and forth until Kieran decided. The quickest way is to go straight for the eastern gates. We have Reaver. We have you. We can fight.
I worried my lower lip. If we do that—if I do that—we risk people seeing me as a demis. We risk the people believing the worst about us and fearing what is to come.
We do. There was another gulf of silence. But right now, we can’t worry about that. That’s not our concern. Cas is. Getting the hell out of here is. And if that means taking down a part of the Rise, then we take it down, Poppy.
I closed my eyes. The essence in my chest thrummed.
We can’t save everyone, Kieran reminded me. But we can save the ones we love.
A jolt ran through me. I’d known when speaking with the generals that there was a chance our plans could crumble around us. That we’d need to take down the Rises. That there would be untold loss of life. That we’d become the monsters the people of Solis feared.
And that stood true now.
Kieran must’ve sensed my acceptance because his next words were: We just need a distraction.
A distraction. A big one that would give us time to make our way through Wayfair and to the Temples.
My eyes opened, and I focused on the black stone of the Rise, looming in the distance. I have an idea.
My patience was stretched to its limits as I sat on the thickly cushioned chair in the alcove of the main floor of the Great Hall. A dozen knights and Handmaidens lined the wall behind me.
The sun had just begun to set for the evening when the Blood Queen summoned my presence. And yet, here I sat as she mingled.
I scanned the packed floor, the faces of so many mortals blurring together as they chatted and vied for a few moments of her time. She moved among them, flanked by Millicent and another Handmaiden. Like a vibrant bird, ruby crown shining, she smiled graciously as the mortals bowed. She didn’t wear white tonight. She, like Millicent, was draped in crimson.
I wasn’t quite sure how the gown remained on her body. Or if the upper half was made of some sort of body paint. It was that tight and sleeveless, defying gravity. What neckline it had plunged to her navel, revealing far more than I ever wanted to see, considering—whether or not I wanted to admit it—she was my mother. The lower part of the gown was looser, but I didn’t dare look too long at the gossamer fabric. I didn’t need that trauma in my life.
“You look as if you’re enjoying yourself.”
At the sound of Malik’s voice, I stiffened even more. “I’m having the time of my life.”
There was a brief, rough chuckle as he brushed past my chair, sitting on one of the empty two that were on either side of me. “I’m sure you are.”
I said nothing for a few moments. “I have no idea why she summoned me to the Great Hall.”
“She wanted you to see how loved she is,” Malik replied. “In case the display in the Great Hall wasn’t sufficient.”
Glancing over at him, I watched him lift a glass of red liquid to his lips. I couldn’t be sure it was wine. He had spoken softly, but the knights and Handmaidens were close enough to have heard him. No one else was around. What I’d felt from him the day before preyed on my mind as I returned my attention to the floor. “Of course, they love her. They’re the elite of Carsodonia. The wealthiest. As long as their lives are easy, they will love whoever sits on that throne.”
“They’re not the only ones. You saw that for yourself.”
I had. “Only she gives Blessings with Atlantian blood.” I looked at him again. He shrugged. “Something that cannot have any long-lasting effects.”
He took another drink.
“And she has them afraid—”
“Of you,” he spoke. “The Harbinger.”
I forced a slow, even breath. “What she told the people yesterday was a lie. Those in Oak Ambler and the other cities haven’t been abused. You, no matter what you think now, have to know that the Atlantians—your father—would never have done what she claimed.”