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“The Wizard has shielded his true face for years. Illusion is a common power among witches and you’re half god. It should be easy.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Half god, though? That is still wild to hear.”

“Well, get used to it. Now go on.”

I exhale and straighten my shoulders as if I’m preparing for a race or a dive off a cliff.

I don’t know how to summon magic. I don’t know how it should feel or how to direct it.

But then I hear Aunt Em’s voice saying, Trust what you know.

I think about changing my face and for whatever reason, I immediately think of Rosemary, the girl I went to school with, the same girl who competed with me for Edward’s attention. Rosemary with her olive complexion and the wide bridge of her nose, the Cupid’s bow of her lips.

I hear Tin suck in a breath and I know I’m on the right track.

I focus in on Rosemary’s eyes last—a soft shade of blue, like a robin’s egg.

When I open my eyes, Tin nods his approval. “You don’t even look like yourself.”

“No?” I spot a window on the side of the bakery and hurry over to it, checking my reflection in the glass. “Oh god. That’s unsettling. I look just like Rosemary.” When I sense Tin’s question hanging in the air, I add, “She’s a girl I know from my world. A friend. Well, I wish we could be friends but there is a bit of rivalry between us.”

“Why? You’re fighting for the same territory?”

“You could say that.”

“The transformation is sound,” Tin says, checking me from several different angles. “I think this should work if you can hold it.”

“I don’t know what that means but I feel like it should be no problem. Like I’m not struggling to hold on to it now.”

“That’s good. Come on then. Let’s go scope out the square and see what we have to work with.”

It takes me a handful of minutes to gain confidence in my disguise. My instinct is to duck my head and avoid eye contact, but considering this is a mission based on awareness and surveillance, I can’t keep my eyes on the road for too long.

Eventually, I settle into the feeling that I look like Rosemary and no one will recognize me as the girl painted on two-story banners hanging around the city.

Tin and I make our way from one end of the square to the other. The place is packed, a buzz in the air. These people clearly know an event is about to take place. Small crowds have started to gather.

“Will he just appear on stage?” I ask Tin as we circle the fountain.

It’s a massive marble feature with a statue of all four Cardinal Gods in a ring in the center, water pouring out from vases they hold in their hands. Because I know Rook holds a grudge against the gods, I’m guessing the fountain is a relic from when the royal family ruled. It’s a beautiful piece of art, the gods’ clothing flowing off their bodies in expertly carved folds.

Mist from the flowing water paints the air.

It’s much warmer here than it was in the north so the bit of coolness is a nice respite.

“Depends on how many people he wants to pull up there as part of the spectacle. My guess is he’ll have his guards pull Blue on stage and he’ll follow behind from over there.”

Tin points at a tunnel that leads back from the stage to a circle of light at the other end. “The Emerald Palace is on the other side.”

When Tin and I made the plan, we discussed what I would do once Blue was visible. We did not discuss the blocking of each detail, but now I wish we had.

“Do you think I should go up on the right or the left?”

“Neither.”