“How do we attack?” Jake asked bluntly.
“The Cardinal Queen might sit on my throne,” Hope said. “But the Organ House ismyHouse. She cannot deny me entry.”
“So we knock politely?” Lenna cocked an eyebrow. “That seems dreadfully civilized.”
Jake Gave a detailed plan across the metal table—a map of the Organ House with the Cardinals’ Temple marked at the very heart. “Four entries,” he said, pointing at each gate. “One at each Cardinal point. The Temple sits in the middle, like the Core in our panom marks. The West gate is closest to the throne room. South and East gates feed into salons and interconnected suites—likely places for any prisoners or mind-molded roixers,including the Roix Reigner, to be billeted. If the Queen has kept them alive, they’ll probably be there.”
“If any roixer tries to stop us, we kill them,” Hope said flatly. There was no debate in her tone.
“What about the North gate?” Ayla asked.
“Fastest route to the Cardinals’ Temple,” Jake said. “Also the most likely to be trapped.”
“Brilliant.” Lenna’s grin was dangerous. “So we split and conquer, and meet in the middle?”
“No.” Hope and Ciaran said together. Hope’s dark eyes flicked to the faces around the table. “That’s what she’d expect. We won’t split thin and decrease our chances of survival by increasing the risk. Who is coming?”
Hands rose—Lenna, Jake, Hope, Ciaran, Stevian—sparks and shadows answering to intent. Each pledge was an oath.
“Indianna?” Ciaran asked.
Indianna’s shoulders tightened. “Nina and I must stay here until the cure is brewed, and she drinks it. It’s very time-sensitive.”
Ciaran’s expression softened with a quick realization. “About time-sensitive matters, Indianna…When I was at the West House, I proposed you as heir to the West House. My father agreed.”
Indianna’s color shifted. “Me? I’ve never set foot on the West Petal.”
“You have the heart for it,” Ciaran said, determined. “You heal. You protect. You’re relentless. Plus, the Petal I donated to you was the West one. That’s more than enough. I trust you.”
Indianna’s glance slid to Nina, who had knownandlived in the West, who held in her lean body the first instincts of a healer. Nobody had to speak the reason Nina had not been chosen out loud; they all felt the black answer.
“Ayla?” Hope asked. “Thoughts? You can wield the Fifth. We need you at the center.”
Ayla’s hand went to Nina’s.
“Promise me you won’t die,” Nina begged, her bottom lip trembling.
Ayla swallowed in silence.
“I don’t think I can live without you, Ayla,” Nina whispered, leaning on Ayla’s chest. “I don't think I want to.”
Ayla swallowed and pressed a kiss to Nina’s hair. “I promise I’ll see you again,” she whispered. The vow was small, fierce, private.
Lenna cleared her throat, feeling like she was intruding on a very intimate moment. “So—have we got everything?”
“Everything I ever wished for, and more,” Hope said, nodding. She lifted the Red and Lawful Stabs. “We have these. And we haveus.”
“Not like you to be sentimental, Hope,” Lenna teased.
“It’s the truth. Three Fifth wielders—Jake, Ayla, and myself—who are also Rulers or Organ Mandor. A badass panom, first and only to kill a Cardinal goddess. The Darkness Commander and his army of courtrades, and the wisest, most experienced courtrade with us. We are strong, and we are family. I am proud and honored to fight the final battle with you all.”
“Who fucking knows what the Queen has under her feather-fucked sleeve,” Lenna muttered.
“We don’t,” Hope admitted. “So we’ll move, we’ll attack, we’ll pivot. And most of all—we will stay together. We will protect each other. We share one goal, and we will not stop until it’s done.”
The Organ Mandor looked around the room, at every face still alive.
“Everyone of us is breathing. Even the Cardinal Queen. It’s about time to change that.”
