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“Where do you think he’ll hold whatever spectacle he has planned?”

“Probably the Emerald Boulevard. It runs in front of the palace, and there’s a square adjacent to it. He holds a lot of events there.”

“Which book has the blueprints?”

“Third one down.”

I pull that book out and scan the index, finding what I need. There is an entire section dedicated to blueprints, because there are seven floors, and six gardens. It’s almost overwhelming and if I had more time, I could easily get lost in scanning the labels of each room.

“There’s a library and the Wizard’s private library?” I look up at Tin.

“Yes. And three dining rooms, a map room, four reading rooms. A Queen’s Courtyard and a King’s Courtyard—”

“And a ballroom courtyard,” I add.

“So many courtyards,” he mutters, sopping up the last of his yolk.

I turn the page to the lowest levels and immediately spot the dungeon. “Do you think he’d hold Toto here?”

“The dog is tiny.”

“Yes, but does he have a kennel?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Think of it like a stable but for dogs.”

“Then no.”

“Honestly a dog cage wouldn’t hold Toto anyway. I’m shocked he hasn’t gotten out of whatever holding cell he’s in. We couldn’t keep him contained no matter what we tried.”

“Your dog is smart. Isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“You commanded him to run so he did.”

“Yes.”

“Have you considered there is a reason he hasn’t escaped yet?”

“Well … hmm.” I pop the last piece of bacon in my mouth as I turn over his question in my mind. Toto is extremely smart. Cairn terriers are known for their intelligence, but I’ve always thought he far surpasses it.

But Tin has a great point. If Toto wanted to escape, I’m pretty sure he would. So why would he stay?

“I guess I can’t know Toto’s strategy, but I’m going to rescue him regardless. So the dungeon it is. Should we go there first?”

“It will be heavily guarded,” Tin points out. “High risk of discovery. I say we go there last.”

“Okay. What about Gabriel?”

“If I know my brother, he’ll have Gabriel close by. I’m not worried about finding him.”

“That’s good. So should we plan on arriving to the palace and blending into the crowd?”

“Now you’re thinking strategically.”

“So we blend into the crowd to take measure of Rook’s plans, rescue Blue, then Gabriel, then Toto. What about the golden mask?”