I narrow my eyes.
“You’re kidding,” someone says.
“That’s The Meridian,” someone else says.
“He has her in The Meridian Art Gallery?” Seraphina moves closer. “But…that’s right here. In town.”
An art gallery. Those strange, twisted metal structures. It starts to make sense.
“Hidden in plain sight.” Isabella shrugs her shoulders. “It’s one of his secret holdings, known only to a select few. There’s an entire network of secure rooms in there. Supposedly to house priceless art.”
“And you’re sure she’s there?” Darick looks over at the tall female. “How do you know?”
“I…” She licks her lips, nervous. “I was there when he took her in.”
Lake’s jaw tightens at her admission. I’m pretty sure he’s cracking molars. “How long?” he asks. “How long do we have?”
“A few hours,” Isabella says, her aristocratic features pinched with concern. “If Lucien discovers I’ve defected, he’s going to know that his intel has been compromised. He’ll move her immediately. We have to assume the worst.”
I watch Kara from across the room. Her thoughts are a jumble of fear and determination that bleeds into my mind.
“Gran. We have to get to Gran.”
“The Meridian has extensive security,” Darick says, studying the blueprints Isabella brought.
Soren rubs his jaw as he peers at the screen. “And if Marlowe’s set up camp there, we’ll be dealing with both technological and magical barriers. Getting in won’t be easy.”
“I can help with that.” Isabella taps the screen, zooming in on the building’s layout. “I know the security protocols, and I can provide access codes. But they change every six hours.”
Thaddeus moves closer to the display. “What about magical wards?”
“Lucien has several dark witches under his control,” Isabella says. “The building is heavily warded. But…” She glances at Mia. “With black magic, those wards could be broken.”
“Absolutely not,” Soren interjects. “We can’t exploit Mia’s power. The risk is too great.”
Mia doesn’t respond, simply pinching her lips together and looking down at the floor. I know it must be killing her to feel like she can’t help. But Soren is right. Unleashing her power when she can’t control it could be even more dangerous than facing Lucien.
“I can do it.” It’s Kara. Of course it is. I feel her surge of determination.
“No,” I say sharply, drawing looks from around the room. I clear my throat. “We need multiple witches. Breaking those wards will take more power than one person can safely channel.”
“Marcus is right,” Lake says. “We’ll need at least three powerful practitioners to breach those defenses.”
Kara’s frustration ripples through our connection.
“Stop trying to protect me.”Her voice is clear in my mind.
I glare at her.“Stop being reckless.”
“Time is critical,” Isabella continues. “Lucien typically visits The Meridian around dawn. Before then is our best window, when he’s away from the building…before he discovers my betrayal.”
“That gives us very little time to plan and execute,” Darick says. “We’ll need to move fast.”
I push away from the wall I’ve been leaning against. “We need teams. One for magical defense, one for physical security, and one for extraction.”
Lake nods. “Agreed. Let’s break this down and assign roles.”
I watch as the High Priestess waves Astra over. The leader of the Hidden Oasis steps forward, her dark hair gleaming in the low light.
