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“It’s not,” Casteel agreed. “But that is just one group.”

Hisa raised a brow. “I’m listening.”

“They will be expecting us to arrive via horse,” Kieran said. “Entering through the eastern gates of the Rise, but we don’t want to do what they expect.”

“That’s where you will come in,” I said. “You, along with Emil, Vonetta, and Lyra will leave in the morning, taking a small contingent of guards with you to arrive at the eastern gates. They have to expect that we would not come without some sort of convoy, even if they remain outside the Rise.”

Hisa nodded. “And you all?”

“We will travel by sea.” Kieran glanced at Sven. “Thanks to you, we have a ship.”

Sven smiled. “More like thanks to my son, who is currently loading several crates of wine—well, mostly wine bottles full of water and horse piss,” he said, and my lip curled. “We aren’t going to just give the Blood Crown several hundred bottles of our wine.”

Eloana placed a hand over her mouth, but not quickly enough to hide her smile.

“As most know, we monitor many of the shipments in and out of nearby ports,” Lord Sven continued. “And since Oak Ambler is the closest, we know that wine and other goods are infrequently shipped into the city. The shipment will not be questioned.”

“They won’t be expecting us from the sea.” Casteel picked up his chalice. “Not with the mist that comes off the Skotos Mountains. As far as people know, both mortal and vampry alike, the mountains continue into the sea. That is what the mist leads them to believe.”

“I can confirm that,” I noted. “We believed that the Stroud Sea ended at the Skotos.”

“That doesn’t mean the Blood Crown believes that,” Valyn pointed out. “They could’ve gotten that information from any number of Atlantians they captured over the years.”

“True.” Casteel nodded. “But I’m also sure they will have scouts on the road leading to Oak Ambler. The group traveling by land will be spotted. Lyra and Emil will travel with their identities hidden. Vonetta will be in her wolven form, and Naill will be at Emil’s side.”

“It takes, what? Four days by land to arrive at Oak Ambler?” Lady Cambria inclined her head. “How many by sea?”

“With our ships?” Sven grinned. “Faster than anything Solis will have, but you will have to go slow through the mist. So, you’re looking at roughly the same time.”

Understanding flickered on Hisa’s face as she smiled tightly. “It will take us about two days to clear the Skotos and enter the Wastelands. We would be spotted before you arrive.”

“Meaning they will turn their attentions to you,” Kieran stated. “Emil and Lyra, along with Vonetta and Naill, will enter and travel to Castle Redrock.”

“Hopefully, that is what occurs,” Eloana said, shifting in her seat, uneasy. “There is still a chance that you could be discovered.”

“There will always be a risk,” Casteel confirmed. “But we have a better chance this way.”

“And then?” Valyn queried. “Once you’re in front of the Blood Crown, how do you plan to get out if things do not go as planned? If it is a trap? I will go to the north to await word with the armies, but what will you do if it is a trap?”

My mind went to what I’d believed Nyktos had been referring to regarding the power already residing in me. I lifted my gaze to Casteel’s.

“What are you thinking, my Queen?” he asked.

The way those two words rolled off his tongue caused a wicked curl to start up low in my stomach. The way his eyes heated as they held mine told me he knew exactly what they did.

He was…incorrigible.

I took a drink. “I was unable to gain the aid of Nyktos’s guards,” I stated, and I could feel Casteel gearing up to deny that, so I rushed on. “And with what he and my brother said about the Revenants, we do not want to go to war with Solis. So, I was thinking that if this is a trap, or if the Blood Crown doesn’t take our ultimatum, we are left with only one recourse.”

The room fell silent with understanding. “And what if that provokes what you’re attempting to avoid?” Lord Sven asked.

“The King and Queen wouldn’t have survived even if they agreed,” Casteel said after a moment. “If we have an agreement, we would be careful about ensuring that neither Ileana nor Jalara are a threat any longer—once we were sure that the remaining Blood Crown is in agreement with what we have set forth.” One of his fingers drew idle circles on the bottom of his chalice as his attention flicked back to me. “But I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”

I shook my head. “If they don’t agree, the only option we will be left with is one that ensures the Revenants can’t be used or can be dealt with. And there is only one way we can do that.” I sought out Eloana’s gaze in the room. “We cut the head off the snake. We destroy the Blood Crown in its entirety, and I…I can do that.”