Vicer was studying my face. “What is it, Pris?”
“It’s not enough to get Asinia and Demos out. I’m going to free them all.”
Vicer gaped at me. Tibris just clenched his teeth. He’d known this was coming. Our discussion about it had been in low, hissed voices, both of us brimming with frustration.
“You can’t,” Vicer said. For the first time, he seemed vaguely shocked.
But something in me had awakened now. Something that needed to see all those prisoners free. Something that screamed for retribution. “Think about it. If I’m getting two people out, we can expand the plan and get them all out.”
“You say it like it’s easy. Like we haven’t been trying for years.”
“Two weeks before Gods Day, the king is holding another ball. According to the queen, some of the village representatives will be staying until Gods Day. Think of the blow it would be for them to witness his entire dungeon escaping. Think of the representatives who would carry that news back to their villages. And think of the people just like us who would have hope for the first time.”
Vicer’s mouth twisted. “You make it sound so simple. What are those people supposed to do when we get them out? Where are they going to go?”
I lifted my chin. “I’ve been watching the prisoners. Talking to some of them. The younger children…they mostly don’t survive the dungeon. Most of those who are still alive can pass for twenty-five winters. They get a blue mark, and they’re free.”
Vicer burst out laughing, holding up his hands. “Well then, in that case, it should all be fine.” The laughter faded from his voice. “Did you miss the part where Tibris told you he was saving for years just to get a blue mark for you?”
I glanced at Tibris. He winced.
“You said there are other options. Now’s the time to start asking around. I know it’s dangerous. Tibris and I will do anything we can. But there has to be someone who can help.”
Vicer’s expression was stony. “If I could achieve such a miracle, that person wouldn’t be able to handle three hundred prisoners in one night.”
He wasn’t saying it couldn’t be done. A tiny flame of hope lit inside me, glowing like one of those blue-green stones in the hybrid market. “We get them out of the city. The prisoners will separate, travel in groups. They’ll know where to go and when, so your contact can get through them all.”
Tibris’s voice was quiet. “And the ones who are too young to pass as twenty-five winters?”
“They get the mark anyway. And they get some kind of charm to make it invisible.” I threw up my hands. “They grow their hair long. They hide for a few years until they could pass. But once they can pass, they’re free. They can settle somewhere and start a new life.”
Vicer closed his eyes. He wanted it. I knew he did. And yet, Vicer lived here. He knew what could be done. And what couldn’t.
But maybe…maybe we all needed to be pushed. Just once. Maybe saving these people was worth everything. I could justify it with the embarrassment it would cause the king, the hope it would give other hybrids…but three hundred lives was enough. That was all the justification I needed.
“I can’t leave those people there to die, Vicer. I don’t have it in me.”
Not Lina, with her solemn eyes. Not Dashiel, who deserved his vengeance. Not Demos, Asinia, or any other prisoner would be left behind. Not while I still drew breath.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “The moment I saw you again, I knew you were going to complicate everything.” Finally, he heaved a sigh. “I’m not agreeing to anything except helping you set it up. If I think it’s too dangerous, I have the right to say no. At any time.”
Victory flashed through me, and I fought to keep my expression blank. “Fine.”
Some of the tension left his shoulders, and he leaned against the wall. “If we could do this…”
I grinned. “Who is in charge of the guards on the city walls?”
“The king.”
Tibris nodded, picking up my thought. “Surely there’s someone beneath him who oversees the guards.”
“Patriarch Farrow.”
One of the men most loyal to the king. I sighed. “Who works beneath him?”
Vicer shrugged. “I’ll look into it. But you’re right. If we’re going to get our people out, we need to get them as far from the city as possible and have anyone who agrees to help with the marks meet them elsewhere. I’ll find out who oversees the guards at the city walls.”