“How to immobilize the gate.” He revealed a small leather book from his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. “The architects never drew the gate mechanism, but simply described it. I sketched the gatehouse as close to their words as I could. Tampering with the winch mechanism or the chains would either take a long time or send the gate crashing down. But in a tiny footnote here, an engineer mentioned locking pins that anchor the gate to prevent too much tension on the winch. If you sever those with Mother’s knife and put the pieces back in, they’ll jam the gate in place when the guards try to pull the pins out.”
I stared at the carefully inked sketch. The gate system was a mess of pulleys and chains. “Like breaking off a key in a lock.”
“Exactly. But make sure you cut the pin just right so it doesn’t fall out the other side.”
I bit my lip. “What if someone sees what I’ve done? Then they’d have plenty of time to fix it before Aiden arrives.”
“Try to disguise it, if you can. And pray to the Four they don’t inspect it too closely.” Everett sat back in my chair, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. “If they discover it, they’ll be able to reach through the gate and cut through the rest of the pin with a Wolf’s blade, as I’m sure they’ve also realized sharpened sunstone hasmore uses than death. There are too many problems to solve, but this is the best plan I have over a dozen others.”
I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled my brother close. “It’ll work, or it won’t. Either way, I will do everything I can to shape this battle in our favor.”
He gave me a wan smile, then kissed my forehead. “I’m with you, little sister. Either way.”
I wanted to burst into tears at the rare show of affection and curl up in his arms like I had when we were younger. But I couldn’t lose my nerve now. I had to be strong until the end. Like Mother.
After Everett left, I shimmied out of my dress and carefully laid it over a chair. Maybe Renwell would let me use the excuse of returning it to go back to the club.
I sat in front of my mirror and washed off the thick makeup Melaena had painted onto my face. She’d tried very hard to hide the red marks in my eyebrows and on my cheeks from the Wolf mask.
I froze, staring at my half-washed face. I’d just seen marks like this. But as deeper scars. Like the ones someone would get if he wore a Wolf mask for many hours.
The man who’d tried to kill me was a Shadow-Wolf.
Chapter 59
Kiera
I sharedmy discovery with Everett and Delysia the next morning over breakfast on my little balcony.
I thought about keeping it to myself. But I didn’t care for secrets anymore.
It was actually a relief to discuss it with them, rather than spin questions around in my head.
“Perhaps he used to be a Shadow-Wolf, then grew disgruntled with Renwell and deserted,” Everett suggested, buttering his toast.
“I don’t think any Wolf has ever deserted. If they did, it wasn’t for long,” I said grimly. “Remember, they sign up for the money or for darker desires. Few men change their minds about that.”
“Renwell set you up,” Delysia declared, peeling a cooked egg. “You said he’s trying to get you to forgive him for some twisted reason. He wanted to save you, like Aiden saved you.” Every time she mentioned Aiden, her voice turned dreamy, even though she’d never met him. I couldn’t help but smile each time.
“I agree. Renwell likely paid that man to attack me,” I said, picking the fatty bits off my bacon. I only liked the crispy parts.“But what mercenary would willingly sacrifice his life? You don’t get paid in the Abyss.”
Everett shrugged, the sun glinting off the gold thread in his jacket. “Perhaps Renwell lied to him, too. He could’ve told the Wolf that he would only fight him off, not kill him.”
“That sounds more like him,” I muttered. “But I plan to keep my suspicions to myself and pretend to warm up to his ideals until I get his gods-damned permission to go back to Melaena’s. There are too many guards on the bridge for me to sneak past.”
Delysia nodded. “They’ve been all over that bridge for weeks. For a while, they didn’t letanyonecross it. Renwell must have thought you or Aiden would try to sneak across the bridge, since it’s the only way in or out now.”
“When Aiden crosses that bridge, he won’t be sneaking,” I said firmly.
Delysia smirked at me. “No, he’ll be sprinting toward you.”
I flicked a piece of fatty bacon at her.
She shrieked and launched backward in her chair. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to remove a grease stain from silk?” she cried.
Instead of laughing like I might’ve when we were younger, I held my hands up. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want to create more work for the maids. I suppose I’m not used to caring for fine clothes anymore.”
Delysia settled back in her chair, fluffing her skirts with pink cheeks. “I didn’t mean to get hysterical. I guess it’s still a reflex from when Father used to criticize all my dresses for any little wrinkle or stain.”
