She steps back, her eyes wide with fear and her pupils dilated to the point they almost swallow her green irises. “Queen Maewe has captured Karl and Manu. Manu is in bad shape, and the queen tortured Karl, even after he told her everything about King Ruel’s plans.”
The air seems to vanish from my lungs. My stomach twists and coils like a nest of snakes, each one tightening its holduntil my insides feel like a sailor’s knot pulled taut by desperate hands.
Castiel curses under his breath. “She knows we’re helping him.”
“It’s likely,” his mother replies. “Losing Lynx and Etheos as allies wasn’t something she was counting on. She is still the most powerful queen in Ellnesari, though.”
“How many allies do you have, and will they march against Aquila at a moment’s notice?” I ask.
“We can only count on Etheos’s support.” Castiel releases a loaded sigh. “The other kingdoms will most likely wait to make a decision.”
Anger bubbles up my throat. “So they can pick the side they feel is stronger.”
The muscles around Queen Endaya’s mouth tighten, and her eyes glimmer with what I hope is contempt for the other royal houses. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Cheryl turns to face the queen. “We can’t wait for an army. Karl and Manu won’t survive much longer in captivity.”
“Do you know where King Ruel is?” I ask.
“He didn’t say,” the queen replies. “But Cheryl speaks the truth. I’ve seen what Queen Maewe did through Luna’s eyes. We cannot wait for King Ruel.”
“Even if we bring them to Mistral, they’ll never make it inside the castle,” Castiel argues.
“There’s a way.” The queen lifts her chin, squaring her shoulders.
Castiel’s eyes widen. “Mother… you don’t mean…”
“We’ll use the shadow wolves,” she continues.
“There are more shadow wolves here in Lynx?” Cheryl’s pulse quickens.
“No, but they can be here at a moment’s notice. Luna already agreed to call for their aid.”
“But… we didn’t travel to Aquila physically. How can we rescue them?”
“There was no need to make the trip in your physical body because you were only gathering information. But shadow wolves can travel to any place and bring travelers with them.”
“For your plan to work, we can’t be detected,” Castiel chimes in. “Avoiding a direct confrontation with Queen Maewe is paramount to our success.”
“A small operation, then,” I say. “Search and rescue only.”
“We need to know where they’re being held,” Cheryl adds. Then we all look at Telar, who has been quiet this whole time. I wonder if he thinks our plan is foolish. The furrow of his brow tells me he’s not excited about it.
“The palace has a dungeon,” he replies. “But Queen Maewe has her own private prison.”
“Why would she…?” I shake my head. “Never mind.”
“My bet is she’s keeping them there. To know for sure, you’d have to spy on them again.”
Queen Endaya shakes her head. “We can’t. Luna needs to recover her strength to physically bring a passenger on the trip.”
Castiel begins to pace. “We’ll use King Ruel’s secret passageways, then. They can take us to most places in the palace.”
“Including that bitch’s prison?” Cheryl asks.
“No, but close enough.”
I trade a look with Cheryl and see the resolution burning in her eyes. “We’re in. When can we leave?”
