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“I’m trusting the process,” I retorted, leaning my head back against the wall. Imperfect as the plan may be, I was going to get that map tonight, no matter what obstacles presented themselves. Soon, I’d be able to see Lila again. As my time apart from her grew, the hole in my heart had widened into a deep chasm that could no longer be filled with distant memories. I wanted to see her, to hold her, to be with her.

“Well, what if that towerguard doesn’t go to the tavern today?” Kah said, interrupting my thoughts.

“He will.”

“What if he doesn’t order a drink?”

“He will,” I said through clenched teeth, warning Kah to cut it out.

“What if Commander Bloodbain recognizes you as the guard who peed in the stairwell?”

I furrowed my brow, not liking the additional holes he was poking in the plan.

“What if the explosion—ifyou can figure out how to trigger it—doesn’t draw the commander out of his room?”

“Kah!” I said. “You’re not helping!”

“I wager five jaders that the commander recognizes you.”

Exasperated, I raked my fingers through my hair, wanting to pull it out. “You can’t betagainstme! I don’t see you coming up with a better plan.”

“Seriously, though, what if he does recognize you?”

I couldn’t take any more of Kah’s questions. “Then he’ll regret it.”

Drugging the towerguard was easy.No one noticed as I slipped a sleeping herb mixture into his ale that evening at the tavern,stole his sword, and left him passed out at the table on my way to sub in for his round of guard duty.

The plan was working so far.

When I reached the commander’s chambers, I wasn’t alone. Servants shuffled in and out of the room, carrying a table, chairs, linens, dishes, and trays of food, the mouthwatering smell reminding me how long it’d been since I’d eaten decent food. My meal at the tavern earlier was barely palatable. I would give anything for a plate of Kovakian spiced turnovers and an extra-tall mead right now.

“What’s going on?” I asked one of the towerguards on duty. By the look of it, the commander was planning a private feast.

The guard’s indifferent expression indicated he either hadn’t been trusted with all the details or had no interest. Without answering, he removed his hand from his sword hilt, and I placed my hand on mine, a signal that I was relieving him of duty.

When the second replacement guard arrived, the first two guards pivoted on their heels and left, probably eager to grab a seat in the tavern after standing in place all day.

I glanced inside the room, trying to catch sight of the Zavien girl while the door was ajar. I didn’t see the girl, but I noticed there were two chairs at the table. Who was the commander dining with? Would his guest become an obstacle in my plan? Where would he hide the girl if he had company? Or maybe he would want to showcase her to flaunt his power. I’d have to be prepared for anything.

Kah and I had discussed the state the girl would be in when we found her. She’d be scared, weak, malnourished, and likely bound in chains in the corner. Probably in no mood to barter with me, though I’d brought the key to her collar to trade for the map. I had to try not to envision what the commander might have done to her, alone in his chamber, night after night.

My thoughts traveled to Lila. Was she chained up somewhere back in Askeland? Was she too weak to eat and too tired to sleep, like so many of the enslaved workers here? My heart knotted at the thought. I hated that I needed this blazen map if I ever wanted to see her alive again.

I felt the other guard eyeing me. “Where’s Gurak?”

Who?Oh, right. “Got word he passed out in the tavern earlier. I was sent to replace him.” I figured the less said, the better.

He grunted in response.

The firelight from the torches along the wall reflected in the shiny obsidian walls, like murky stars on a black ocean. I took up my position by the door with my shoulders back, feet apart, hand placed on the hilt of my sword. My breathing was tense as I listened for the commander’s footsteps.

He arrived late in the evening. The heavy air in the tower stirred as the clomp of boots echoed up the stairs. His red cape billowed behind him as he marched to his room with a sense of purpose and urgency.

“Here he comes,” Kah breathed.

Commander Bloodbain reached for the door handle and then paused, his gaze sliding toward me. Recognition sparked in his narrowed eyes. “You,” he said, backing up to stand directly in front of me.

My back muscles went rigid, but I kept my stare level. There was a reason this man had ascended the ranks to become the guard commander at such a young age, and it wasn’t because he was aloof. I should have listened to Kah when he said the commander was too sharp and cunningnotto notice me.