“So, it’s simple,” Rell was saying, leaning against the table like he didn’t have a single doubt in the world. “Elora and I take the main streets, making sure we’re seen. We head past the city gates and lead Fane to the barn just outside the northern wall.”
Violette, seated across from him, nodded sharply. “Meanwhile, Symond and I will move through the sewers. We’ll stay out of sight and come up through the passage near the barn. By the time Fane realizes he’s outnumbered, it’ll be too late.”
Simple.The word clanged in Elora’s head like a hammer striking metal. There was nothing simple about this.
Her stomach twisted. Splitting up while Fane was hunting her? It felt like throwing herself into open water with a weight tied to her ankles andhopingshe wouldn’t drown.
She forced herself to meet Rell’s gaze, trying to keep the shake out of her voice. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Then we improvise,” Rell said with a small shrug. “That’s why we’re splitting up. Fane can’t plan for all of us if he doesn’t know where we all are.”
Elora’s fingers curled into her palms.Improvise.He made it sound like a perfectly natural thing to do—like they weren’tdealing with a man twice her size, who had already torn through walls just to get his hands on her.
She wasn’t Rell. Or Violette. She didn’t have years of experience dodging people who wanted her dead.
From the far end of the room, Symond let out a loud scoff, his chair tilting back on two legs. “Great. So, while you two go skipping through town like bait, I get to crawl through rat-infested filth. Sounds fun.”
Violette shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass. “It’s the best way to stay out of sight.”
“Sure,” Symond muttered. “Because nothing screams ‘elite mercenary’ like slogging through sewage.”
“You’ll survive, Rook,” Rell said dryly, smirking as he stretched out his legs. “Unless, of course, the rats are smarter than you.”
Symond’s chair hit the ground with a thud as he leveled a glare at Rell. His fists clenched, and for a second, Elora thought he might throw a punch.
She almost wished he would. A brief distraction from this inevitably horrible plan. Splitting up felt like tempting fate. Every instinct screamed at her to object, to demand a better alternative—anyalternative—but when she opened her mouth, Violette’s sharp gaze cut her off before she could even try.
“We don’t have time for second-guessing,” Violette said. “This works because Fane underestimates us. If we all stay together, he’ll see it coming.”
Elora swallowed hard, nodding despite the twisting unease curling in her stomach. She hated that it made sense.
Fane wouldn’t hesitate to come after her, but if he thought she was vulnerable—just one scared girl with a single bodyguard—it might give them the advantage they needed.
Or it might get them all killed.
“You okay with this, Sunshine?”
Rell’s voice broke through her thoughts, light and easy, but not enough to mask the quiet thread of concern beneath it.
Elora paused, the nickname catching her ear more than the question itself.Sunshine.
Rell liked nicknames—Vyefor Violette,Rookfor Symond—but those at least made sense. Simple, familiar.Sunshinedidn’t.
She wasn’t bright, or warm, or anything remotely close. If anything, she was a storm cloud hanging over this entire operation, dragging them all into something far more dangerous than they’d signed up for.
So whythatname?
Elora glanced at him, finding his usual smirk still in place, but his eyes were different—watching her carefully, gauging her reaction.
“I don’t think I have a choice,” she admitted.
“That’s the spirit.” Rell’s smirk shifted into something closer to a grin, like he actually thought she was capable of pulling this off.
She didn’t share his confidence.
Symond let out an irritated huff before shoving himself out of his chair. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Violette rose smoothly, adjusting the straps on her belt. “We’ll head for the sewer entrance near the market,” she said to Rell. “Give us twenty minutes before you start moving.”
