“It’s that, or get caught and join your cousin,” Dario said.
“Don’t you—” Lyr started, but I pushed my chair out and stood.
“No more fighting,” I said. “We’re here to succeed.” My eyes met Lyr’s.
“Fine. Are we settled on these two entry points to begin planning?” Lyr asked.
“I think so,” Meera said.
“We should still have back up plans in place,” Aiden said. “These are ideal, but we should be able to pull this off from any location.”
Dario pursed his lips together. “That’s a lot of fucking work.” He held up his hands before anyone could argue. “But we need to do it.” His lips curled in disgust. “I don’t exactly fancy becoming one of the Emperor’s prisoners.”
I turned to Lyr and Meera. “What do you both think?”
“It makes sense,” Meera said. “Aiden’s approach is right.”
Lyr bit her lip. “As long as we figure it out, and succeed, I don’t care how hard we work.”
“We’re going to succeed,” I said, and placed my hand over my heart. “Me sha, me ka.And we’ll have a plan for after.”
Aiden stood up again, walking around the table to see Meera’s map at a different angle. “Yes. I think this is a very solid assessment, especially for day one.”
“Right, except that all of these locations are literally going to require completely different plans,” Lyr said.
“Let’s split up then,” I said. “We can’t all be in one place at the same time. And if we plan from two locations, we have better odds that one will be successful,” I said.
“Your odds of succeeding here,” Dario pointed to a marker, “are better, because you’ll be out in the open.” He gestured to Meera and Aiden. “No one would ever suspect either of you. And with so many of the Lumerian elite present, there’s guaranteed to be more commotion and therefore more chances for distraction while you make your move.”
Meera nodded, her expression thoughtful.
Dario frowned. “I think Rhyan and I need to plan for the more potentially violent mission. Fighting our way in and out.”
“And me?” Lyr asked.
“Well, you’re the one who has to take the shield in the end. So, you can move between both plans.”
“Either way, you’ll need me to create a glamour,” Aiden said. “Once you have the shield, I can leave behind a decoy. I can also conceal the real one in your possession.”
“Okay,” Lyr said. “Let’s start working. Aiden and Meera, you start here. We’ll call this Plan A. And Dario and Rhyan,” she pointed to the map, “you start here. Plan B. I’ll start with Meera and Aiden, then join you two.”
“Me and Rhyan,” Dario said. “Great.”
I stilled, hearing the unhappiness in his voice. He still hadn’t acknowledged that moment in the cave, the moment he’d gone into shock and I’d held him. And from the look on his face, and everything I’d ever known about Dario my entire life, my guess was he wasn’t ever going to.
Hours later, when Dario’s head was drooping and Lyr was rubbing the exhaustion from her eyes, the clock tower began to ring, announcing midnight.
The doors opened, my guard waiting, along with a few members of my father’s personal escort. Once we all left the room, and were searched to ensure we hadn’t taken any of our study materials, we were led back through the towers and archways to the entrance.
Once there, waiting for the lift, I pulled a small note out of my belt pouch, and stepped toward the desk.
“I’m interested in any titles that relate to these topics,” I said quietly, slipping the scroll across the table.
The librarian frowned, but took the parchment and read.
“Lord Rhyan,” one of my escorts scolded. “You’re to wait for the lift with us.”
“I am waiting for the lift with you,” I said. “I’m just doing so over here.”
