Forcing myself to look away, I saved my burning question. It could wait.
Cerys beamed, noticing her cousin. “You outdid yourself, Percy.” Drifting to the head of the table, she laid a hand on Percy’s arm as she marveled at his work. The bard turned seven shades of scarlet.
“Yes, yes.” Seth rolled his eyes. “Moving on from my appearance.” He tapped the map, pointing out a fort south of the palace. “Commander Aeacus and the Hades Knights will be staying here. It’s an armory and barracks—the perfect target.”
Seraphim nodded. “Every insurgency must escalate to war. We had just begun mustering forces when they crushed us underfoot.”
“And forces need weapons and armor.” Seth raised his eyes, looking at the innkeeper. “I take it you don’t have nearly enough members yet for that.”
“No one knows our exact number,” she replied. “We’d need a safe place to hide them—and a means to spread the word.”
Cerys looked up. “There are chambers beneath the pyramid and tunnels between old tombs. I intended to show them to you the day Eris arrived.”
“Perfect.” Seth stood. “We’ll assault the armory, cause havoc, and empty their weapons stores. Whoever’s there, be it Aeacus or Icelus, I’ll kill them. And reveal my face, this time.”
I leaned forward, studying the fort’s location. “We’ll need caravans to transport the goods. How are we supposed to do that, exactly?”
“I could help,” Cerys said. “My magic is easiest to conjure when I’m near both the entrance and exit—and have time to sketch what I want. Though I’ve never been inside the armory. Someone familiar will need to get in first, so I can anchor the spellto them. Once inside, they can send me a signal.”
“So.” Phaedrus rubbed his chin. “Who shall be the thieves in the night, and who’ll send the fort into a panic?”
“Aethra and Percy will be our thieves,” Seth said. “Eleos—you stay back. The chthonics will handle the distractions.”
“And how,” Eleos asked, “are Percy and Aethra getting in?”
“Leave that to me,” Cerys said. “I’ve sent word of important divinations to Aeacus before. You can pose as the messengers, though one of you will need to disguise yourself as one of my soldiers.”
“Let me do that,” Eleos insisted.
“No,” Seth said shortly.
Surprised, I glanced between the two men. Despite how they bickered, Seth was trying to protect Eleos while he was injured.
It was a long road yet to forgiveness, but Seth earned some favor for that.
“Think about it.” Eleos pressed his good hand on the table. “If Cerys’ people show up with no message and disappear during the heist, it won’t take long for her to fall under scrutiny. Let me ‘guard’ them and ‘lose’ to the insurgents.”
Running a hand across his chin, Seth’s expression lightened. “You want me to knock you out?”
“I’d prefer youpretendto knock me out.”
“You’re right,” Seth agreed. “Cerys must not be caught. Percy and Aethra—one of you will attempt to deliver a message. Cerys—you’ll need to decide what that is.”
“I already have something in mind.” Cerys nodded.
Seraphim paced. “The rest of us can break in the old-fashioned way when it comes time to cause havoc. How many do we want to kill? We could poison their water source.”
Folding his arms, Seth stepped back. “Many of the royal knights here served under my mother for decades. Many will remember me. I have hope—a slim hope—we won’tneedan army to take the city back.”
Eleos looked up. “You think the Ma’at knights would be loyal to you?”
“I’m Ma’at’s heir—not Eris,” Seth said. “Mother was hated and loved for the way she shielded this city from Hades’ laws. If I canpromise the same, those who were loyal to her might follow me. Especially if we can make the Hades Knights look like fools.”
“I like it.” Seraphim braced her palms on the table. “I’ll scout out the area, see how many men they have stationed there. Eleos, Aethra—you’ll need disguises and a script.”
“Easy enough,” Eleos said.
Cerys dropped her hand from Percy’s shoulder. “I should get back.” Pulling her journal out, she ran a hand across its pages and flicked her wrist. A canvas appeared on the wall. She paused, gesturing to the young man with her. “Nehri will deliver the news to the other cells. Anything you’d like them to know, Prince Set?”
