That raised a few brows.
I wasn’t sure we could trust Grizzly yet. We could trust Blackclaw, but as for Ursa? We had proven ourselves to her… but she had done nothing to prove herself to us, yet. It was something that had occurred to me when my mind had cleared after that mind-bending, body-breaking, world-shattering sex. I usually had my best ideas after sex.
It’s all those wonderful chemicals surging through you,Auwei said analytically.
Among other things ‘surging’ inside me.
Do I have to scrub out that filthy mind of yours?
Oh, you know you love it.
Auwei giggled.
“Blackclaw we can trust, but it occurred to me earlier that Ursa and the others haven’t really done anything to prove they’re on our side. They didn’t kill us and they did listen to us… but that might be a long-con.”
“But then… Blackclaw could be in danger!” Silence said, worried.
“Yes, that occurred to me too. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with them. Either… we can trust them or they’ll betray us. We’ll need to be ready for anything, until they’ve proven they’re on our side, all of them.”
Silence was still worried but nodded. “Perhaps…” He seemed to be thinking as he spoke. “We could ask for Blackclaw as a sort of liaison, keeping her here?”
That was an excellent idea, except… “We already have a liaison, pigeons and Fin. It would be odd to ask for her to stay with us… but I can try it, feel out their reactions.” Silence nodded. I’d do it for him, even if it did cause some questions on Grizzly’s end of things.
“Perhaps,” Crane began slowly. “Perhaps there is a way they can prove themselves, though it would be dangerous and potentially an opportunity for them to betray us as well.”
“What are you thinking?” I asked, curious.
I felt Auwei’s curiosity too.
Crane rose and began pacing, which was odd for her, usually so stoic and calm. “What if we use Grizzly as a way into the thick of things?” she asked. It was clear she was going to go on, so no one responded to the question. “What if Ursa approaches Merlin and the others, saying she knows what’s going on and wants in. With her ability to read minds or sniff out the truth, whatever it is, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of reason for her to have gleaned the conspiratorial information off someone. So, she goes in and joins them. She could work on the inside for us, find out everything we need to know to prove these people are traitors.” She stopped her pacing. “And perhaps she could even get some of us in close as well? That would be the risky part. If she is already in on it, we’d be walking in to a trap with her leading us along.”
It was an interesting idea, and I agreed, potentially dangerous for Ursa and potentially very dangerous for us if we went in with her and she was a traitor. But we had to start somewhere. And a plan was starting to form in my mind. Crane’s idea was a good one, and I smiled as I figured out exactly how we could make it work… and keep anyone who went in with Ursa as safe as possible.
Chapter 12
Sparrow
Sparrow was scared and uncomfortable,but she’d promised Legs she could do this, and she’d follow through, even if it meant she might die.
Ursa had agreed to their plan. She’d go in, supposedly alone, to join up with Merlin, Hale, and the others. The hope was to find out the true reason for all the machinations. Yet Ursa wouldn’t be alone. The trouble was Hale’s ability to revert any True-Bonded back to their original form. It meant hiding as an avatar wouldn’t work, but there was something Hale couldn’t affect.
Which was how Sparrow found herself in a strange dark place, hiding with Ahmaia, who’d used her cloth ability to hide them both in one of her ‘pockets’ which was in turn hidden inside a small pouch on Ursa’s belt. Neither Sparrow nor Ahmaia would be able to see what was happening. Sparrow could only see a spot of light above her — the opening of the pouch — which seemed, at the same time, both close and incredibly distant.
Yet, they’d be able to hear events beyond the pouch to get a sense for how things progressed.
“We are in a large hall,” Ahmaia said.
Sparrow could hear the echoing footfalls of Ursa as she moved into the chamber.
Then a deep, hard voice cut over the dying echoes of those footfalls. “Welcome Lady Ursa, it is our honor to have you here with us.”
“Lord Hale, Lady Swan, Lady Merlin,” Ursa said. “It is an honor to be here.”
Sparrow silently thanked Lady Ursa. Now they knew who was in the hall with them.
“With the traitors of Maverick House having killed our beloved queen, I would ask that you address Merlin as My Queen or Your Majesty.” This from Hale as well.
“Indeed, that news was horrible, I still can’t quite believe it,” Ursa said sounding shocked. “How did they do it?”
