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Ava watched her go, wondering if Deni or Oscar would see her and what they would do about it if they did.

She should probably go after her, but her sense was what had just happened to the official still standing in the alleyway was important. She pulled the scarf off her neck and walked toward the woman.

She was staring down at the necklace with loathing.

“Here.” Ava held out a thin rectangular piece of fabric. “This’ll help.”

The woman reached out and took it so easily, Ava focused on the necklace. It was strung with a collection of six charms.

“Why don’t you take that necklace off?” Ava suggested, and the woman heaved a sigh of relief.

“That’s a good idea.” She reached back, unclasped it, and instead of placing it down on the ground, she dropped it.

One ornament came loose and rolled away, and Ava put out a foot and trapped it under her boot. No way was she letting that be picked up by a curious child.

“Is that better?”

“I can’t thank you enough.” The woman shuddered. “The dread. It weighed on me. Every week they give me one, and I go home and vomit.”

“What is it for?” Ava asked.

“For?” The woman seemed suddenly blank eyed.

“It doesn’t matter. Take a deep breath, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“I can’t tell you what a relief that is.” The woman traced a finger over the fabric in her hand. “They make me come out here to get it, because my staff are so worried about me.”

“Do you know what the Kassian army’s plans are?” Ava felt more than a twinge of guilt at manipulating this woman, who had obviously been manipulated enough.

She didn’t think anyone had ever been in dread or afraid of her workings, and she wondered if whoever had created the ornament under her boot had deliberately added dread and fear to it for some kind of sick pleasure.

She felt a frisson of fear at the thought of who would do something like that if they didn’t need to.

“The soldiers can’t be gone soon enough.” The woman’s gaze cut to the alleyway entrance to the square.

“Will they be gone soon?”

“They don’t tell me much.” The woman looked down at the fabric in her hand and then leaned closer. “Just what they need to tell me for my cooperation. I’ve been told to say they’re going to fight the Rising Wave on the plains, and they’re just leaving a small garrison here, but I know they’re lying.”

“They are liars,” Ava agreed.

“Yes.” The woman nodded, face serious. “They’re planning to hide a lot more soldiers under the town, in the cisterns.”

The information was like a jolt to Ava’s system. “Why?”

The woman shrugged. “To fool the Rising Wave?” She brushed a sudden tear from her cheek. “They’re going to use this town as a battleground, and they’re making me keep quiet about it.” Her gaze strayed to Ava’s boot and the charm beneath it.

“Are you the mayor?”

“I am. I am not a good mayor.” The woman brushed another tear away.

“You are a good mayor,” Ava assured her. “And the Rising Wave will not hurt your town if they can help it.”

“They won’t?”

“No. You can trust them to be as careful as possible. Is there a way to trap the Kassian units in the cisterns when they hide down there?”

The mayor nodded. “There are only two entrances. That’s the only reason I was told about their plan. They needed the keys.”