Aiden’s fingers stilled in their perusal of the tins. Then he continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
Nikella subjected me to her unwavering gaze a moment longer. Whatever she saw must have convinced her of my truth, because she gave me a curt nod and slid her spear out of its disguise.
Aiden held up a tin of brown powder. “Looks like you have everything you need now, Librius.”
The Teacher rubbed his hands together, rocking on his feet. “Yes! Nikella procured everything we asked for. This will allow me to finish the,”—his eyes darted to me—“er, items soon.”
“It’s all right, Librius,” Aiden said. “You can speak freely about anything pertaining to Ruru’s part in the plan.”
My brow furrowed, but before I could ask, Ruru nudged me with his elbow. “Did he tell you? You’ll be with me.”
“He hasn’t said much of anything yet.”
Ruru glanced at Aiden. “Can I tell her?”
Aiden nodded.
Tugging on my hand, Ruru led me over to a simple wooden bow and a quiver of arrows. “On the night it happens, my job is to distract the Wolves.”
“What?”
“No, no, we have a plan! See, I’ve been practicing with this bow.” Ruru fit an arrow into the bow and pulled the string back to his ear. “We’ll be high up on a rooftop, setting fire to a few abandoned parts of the city, to keep the Wolves busy chasing their tails.” He released the arrow, and it flew to hit near the center of the target. “I’ve been practicing for weeks,” he added proudly.
My eyebrows rose. Bows and arrows weren’t allowed in the city, except for the guards on the wall. Renwell had a bow in our old training room, but he’d never taught me to use it. Said I’d never need to know.
“Do I have weeks to catch up to your skill?” I asked Ruru, sending a covert look over my shoulder where the other four had their heads bent close over the table.
“You don’t need to catch up,” Ruru said, his brown eyes sparking with excitement. “Aiden says I need a personal guard—someone to watch my back while I take the shots. He said you’re the best, and I agree.”
I smiled, ruffling his messy hair. Such confidence, such stout support. Like a future commander, learning the ropes of leadership.
My heart warmed thatthiswas the job Aiden had given me. Not thieving or killing—unless it was in defense. But guarding this dear boy.
I glanced over at the others again as Ruru readied another arrow.
This job was also going to be conveniently far away from whatevertheywere doing that night. Whichever night they chose.
“Do you know when it’s happening, Ruru?” I asked quietly as he aimed his shot.
“Nope. Aiden said we were waiting on Nikella and for Librius to finish making our bombs.”
I startled. “Bombs?”
Ruru released the bowstring with atwang. “Yep. Librius is a genius for that sort of thing. He knows how to seal a few fireseeds into a can of brown powder. We stick the can in a pile of old wood and shoot it with a burning arrow that sparks the powder and the seeds, thenboom!”
I blinked in horrified fascination. I’d never heard of such a thing. This was information Renwell—and Father—would probably kill to get their hands on. But it still didn’t explain what Aiden and the others were up to. Father wouldn’t care about a few fires and distracted Wolves.
“Do you know what the others will be doing that night?” I murmured to Ruru as he fired another arrow.
He shook his head. “Aiden said it’s safer that way. Oh, and before I forget.” His expression turned serious. “If we need to escape the city, there’s a guard at the gate by the name of Gregor who will give us horses and let us out.”
So, Aiden had at least one guard on his payroll. The bag of gold on my belt felt heavier than ever.
“And you support Aiden? In... killing the king?” I asked.
Ruru stood the bow on the ground, crossing his hands over the top. That missing thumb made my heart twinge every time I noted its absence.
“I don’t like the idea of killing people,” Ruru admitted, his eyes drifting over to Aiden. “But I believe in justice. A king should face the consequences he forces others to. My father used to say that.”
