“I owe her everything,” she said quietly. “The both of you, really. More than I think I’ll ever be able to repay.”
“Lucky for you we are family, then. We don’t repay one another so much as we each see to it that the other has what they need to thrive, yes?”
“Of course.”
“Good girl.” He patted her hand. “Now, this plan. Cutter initiated it, and—”
“Of course he did.”
Luzon gave her a sideways look. “Did something happen between you two?”
Yemi huffed. She knew it wasn’t rational to be this irritated by a simple question. She recognized the feeling as something her mother might have chided her for. But she was tired and impatient and itchy, and everything,everything, was riding on these conversations she had no real desire to have. “Nothing happened. It’s just… it’s evident how little he trusts me. Much more than the trust, the respect for me, for my position—it isn’t there.”
“Paternal instinct, maybe?”
“Yes, and I am not a child,” Yemi snapped.
“Alright, alright,” Luzon soothed. Neither of them said another word until they reached a round room within the bowels of the castle. Its rough-hewn walls appeared crude and clay red in the light of a towering fire. Nova, Cutter, Selah, and a man who resembled Luzon’s guard Kuro but was not, in fact, Kuro stood around a great round table with an atlas strewn over it as they entered.
“To business, then,” Luzon declared, taking a seat in a high-backed chair and steepling his fingers. “Cutter, if you dare.”
“I appreciate it, Your Highness,” Cutter said gruffly. “I was hoping, My Light, that you might debrief us first on your experiences. Did you find what it was you sought? With the uncertainty of everything, we’ve put together a plan that can work with our current resources alone.”
“I’ve heard and expected as much. Interesting that you had so little faith in me to begin with.”
“Yemi,” Nova groaned.
“I have access to the entire Mer army should I need it, yes.” Yemi stopped, her hands wrapped around herself so she could scratch at her itching ribs discreetly beneath the coat. It was as if the warmth was making it worse. “Now, go on. I want to hear, what is thecorrectway to approach this?”
Cutter hesitated, no doubt withholding a retort.
“This is Commandant Shiro. He leads my Gold Guard,” Luzon said cheerily. He gestured toward the man who was not Kuro. He wasn’t particularly tall but had a stocky build with massive tattooed forearmsand sleek black hair tied in a knot at the top of his head. He bowed slightly by way of introduction.
“The Murisin Gold Guard is a sufficiently equipped force for a covert assault on the relevant targets within the palace,” Cutter said.
Yemi raised an eyebrow. It was the Murisin Gold Guard who’d hunted down and carved the face off the Bear King’s assassin. “Any relation to Mr. Kuro?” she asked.
“My twin brother, Your Majesty.”
“An impressive family. How sizable is your team, Commandant?”
“Twelve strong, Your Majesty. But bears, all of them,” Shiro replied.
“In the interest of protecting my people, it’s the largest force I can commit without raising eyebrows. But you know better than anyone that for a targeted campaign, you could do no better on this side of the world,” said Luzon with a pointed look.
Yemi nodded.
“I recommend an incisive approach, using General Cutter’s knowledge of the tunnels beneath the Rock to infiltrate the palace from within,” Shiro offered.
“There are access points beneath certain structures in the city. The basilica avenue will be the least suspicious,” Nova added.
“And how will we get into the city, much less the basilica?” Yemi asked.
“Muris still has stable commerce relations with Chairre. The Guard can smuggle themselves in as crews of merchant vessels,” said Shiro.
“Hmm, sailing is no longer an option, not with this bizarre havoc on the waves now,” said Cutter, drawing a hand over his face.
Yemi studied the map on the table and wondered why Selah said nothing. Surely she had some knowledge of why the ocean was so unsettled, even if she had no solution for it. But she stood silently against the wall next to the fireplace, arms crossed over her chest.
