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“Thank you, thank you, we appreciate it!” I dodged bodies between us and the road, creating an opening for the boys to come after me. Enthusiastic farewells trailed after us as we speed-walked down the street, eager to put space between us and the villagers.

When I was satisfied with the distance—and had checked behind us to be sure we weren’t followed—I asked the others under my breath, “Thoughts?”

“I’d believe they were threatened or blackmailed,” Vyrain offered, shaken from his near-kidnapping. “They were kind, yes, but a little pushy. That, to me, says ulterior motive.”

“Could have been under the influence of something,” Hohem suggested. “A city like this probably gets all their drinking water from the same place. If you had access, you could tamper as you liked. Put something in it to keep them all agreeable.”

Luthri made a thoughtful sound. “Hmm. There’s no plant I can think of that could induce a pleasant mood and heavy suggestibility without sluggishness and brain fog. And anything that comes close would need to be administered regularly, or you face nasty withdrawal.”

“What would be your guess?” I challenged Luthri.

His pace slowed as he considered. “Brainwashing? This Rugaveld may very well be an outcast with a slick tongue who got lucky. If not that, then hypnosis of some kind?”

I nodded. All possibilities that had occurred to me as well. The only other one—and this was scraping the bottom of the barrel—was robots, but they didn’t have that level of technology here. And anyway, where would the people go if they’d been replaced by robots?

We maintained polite expressions but did not linger as a group of near-identical knee-high fae waddled past, all chattering excitedly and jumping over themselves to say hello.

While humanoid, their backs bore ovular plated shells like turtles.

Their skin varied in thickness and came in various shades of green scales, and they had flat beaks for mouths.

Something about the scale pattern tugged at my memory, but it was there and gone.

In any case, I was inclined to believe this went beyond a cult.

Sweet-talking alone didn’t turn a population this large into obedient sheep, and they didn’t strike me as the religious type.

What else brought on that level of fanaticism?

Rugaveld threatening them into submission wasn’t out of the question.

We should have explored the island more.

Perhaps there was a hidden prison in that network of caves where family members were tortured to keep the rest in line.

“So, how are we approaching Rugaveld?” Hohem inquired. “It’s got to be a trap, right?”

“It has to be,” I agreed, nodding. “Let’s see what we’re dealing with first. If the building is secure, we’ll poke around for another entrance. Maybe we can?—”

Vyrain released an emphatic groan, interrupting my blossoming plan.

“I get that we didn’t know what the situation would be, but we’ve been sneaking around for no reason, Mar, and it’s starting to get ridiculous.

Unless they’ve got a dozen brainwashed shahim on the rooftops waiting to surprise us, I think we can handle this guy. Maybe it’s time to try the front door?”

Sucking my teeth, I considered his proposition.

I was loath to take the direct route; it wasn’t the way I learned to do things.

Being unprepared was an embarrassment at best and, at worst, death.

The risk wasn’t worth it. I preferred to know everything I could about a situation before going in, even if that meant it might take longer or be a little more work.

“We could split up,” Luthri proposed. “Two go ahead while two hang back. That way, if it is a trap, the others will be free to mount a rescue mission. It’s not an ideal…”

He trailed off, eyes glued to something past me. Warning bells went off, and I tensed.

Keeping my voice low, I demanded, “What? What is it?”

Luthri grinned and pointed. Tipping my head a degree, I used my peripheral vision to watch an impressive being, half woman and half horse—or, half avida , rather—disappear down a side street. No words came to mind. To think centaurs were more than a myth.

“Goddess, those are rare,” Lu exclaimed. “I haven’t seen a Santouri in revolutions. But how strange to see one in these parts, and without a herd. They’re always traveling in?—”

If I wasn’t concentrating on getting my heart rate back to normal, I would have slapped him. “Focus, please, Lu.” I forced the words past a tightened jaw. “You can sightsee later.”

“Begging your pardon, love. I was saying that splitting up could work in this case.”

The pet name made the twins share a look, but I pretended not to have noticed.

“It’s not a bad idea,” I admitted, drawing the words out as I mulled over our options.

As much as the idea of splitting up soured my stomach, he had a point: without knowing what awaited us when it came to Rugaveld, a strategy wouldn’t be remiss.

If only we had a little more manpower. A pang of sadness hit—losing Yrra and Daethie hurt.

Making up my mind, I announced, “All right. Let’s see what we’re dealing with first, and then we’ll figure out how we want to play this.”