“Okay.” I was starting to feel stupid. “I’ll just talk and hope this gets to her. Tell Alea that I have the means to free her king. I also know how to break Varia’s hold on all of us, but I need help. I know Alea and her people are willing to give in to Varia to keep their land safe, but if they work with me, I really believe we can overpower Varia and be free of her tyranny. Here’s the thing. Somewhere in this palace, there is a very heavily guarded room. I mean, there’s probably a bunch of rooms like that. The dungeons, Varia’s bedroom, her dogs’ kennel, whatever. But I feel like this is going to be really guarded. I don’t expect Alea to get anywhere near it, since I’m guessing subjects’ access only goes so far. That’s the thing. Alea probably won’t even see the masses of guards because this room is going to have a huge perimeter around it. That’s probably one clue. The other is that it won’t be obvious why it’s so guarded. Dungeons make sense. This won’t. So, if there’s any way she can figure out where this is at and let me know, that would be huge.”

I paused then, wondering about that last part. I was banking on the bird magically communicating my words to Alea. How hers would get back to me was less obvious. Well. That was a problem for later, and we had plenty of others before we reached that point.

“Having some idea of that place’s location will make a big difference when I bust out her king. And I will, by the way. Him and all the other captive monarchs. So, if she knows any other disgruntled emissaries from other lands, tell them to be ready for a huge coup in the next day or so.” Until that moment, I hadn’t realized I was truly going to stage one ... but, well, why else had I come here? “But again, the key is figuring out this stronghold of Varia’s. We can still stage a nasty rebellion, but the threat of the blight isn’t going to go away until we get to what she’s hiding.”

Spots groomed his foot. I wasn’t sure if he was simply listening and multitasking or had grown bored.

“Can you tell her that?”

For a moment, I thought nothing would happen, and then Spots made some kind of chirping noise. He worked his way back out through the bars and flew off.

“Well,” I remarked. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve ever done by far ... but it’s up there.” I then realized I was talking to myself and wondered if that was better or worse than speaking to a bird.

It was hard for me to sit still and wait. My nature usually required that I do something; it was why I’d had such a difficult time in Alabama. At least while there, I’d known my patience would pay off for the twins’ safety. Here, I was constantly pressed with the knowledge that every day meant more of Varia’s reign, more suffering in the blight, and more dangers for my friends.

As evening fell and my cell darkened, I summoned Volusian back. Maybe it was a trick of the lighting, but his appearance seemed more substantial now. “You can move around this hallway. I want you to go and talk to each of the monarchs and give them a heads-up on what’s going on. Tell them there may be a commotion soon and that we’ll be freeing them from their chains to go take on Varia and the blight once and for all. Let them know I’ll have more details when the time comes.” God, I hoped that was actually true. “Give them my description so they know I’m the one with instructions. And Dorian. Give them his description too. In fact, go to Dorian first and catch him up on everything. He may not know about our fellow cellmates. And tell him I talked to the bird.”

Volusian gave me a long-suffering look. “This may be a new low for me, mistress.”

“Hey, it’s necessary for the bigger plan. Besides, I figured you’d be all about getting closer to our endgame with Varia. I thought you wanted to prove something to these Yew people.”

His eyes narrowed. “Mistress, you have no idea just how much I want that.”

He vanished, and I was left alone again. I didn’t know how many monarchs were in the hall exactly, but it took a while for Volusian to make the rounds to them and Dorian. I had actually dozed off when my minion returned. Waking up to those red eyes in a dark room is not a fate I’d wish on anyone, not that I let him know how much it freaked me out.

“And?” I asked. “How’d it go? Did you talk to everyone?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“How many others are there besides Dorian and me?”

“There are five.”

Five. Somehow, I’d been hoping for a dozen or so. Still, five gentry with magic on par with Dorian and me were nothing to scoff at. We could do some serious damage to this place. “Did they say they’ll help?”

“Three were quite zealous. I believe they would have attempted an escape right then, with or without a plan. The other two have been here a considerable time. Their spirits are broken. They were listless in responses, seeming to have little hope that we could actually accomplish anything.”

An uneasy thought occurred to me. “They aren’t so desperate that they’ll report on me in some attempt to buy favor, are they?”

“I do not believe so, mistress. I believe they have simply given up altogether. Should the opportunity for revenge and escape arise, it’s possible they may regain their momentum.”

“Let’s hope so,” I muttered. We’d gone from five to three allies. I still thought those were good odds, but I preferred “overwhelming” to “good.”

“Also,” added Volusian, with what I was certain was a note of displeasure, “I have a message from the Oak King.”

“What’d he say?”

“He says that in addition to finding the talismans’ location, you should also consider that they will have some sort of magical protection on them. Finding them and defeating their guards may not be enough if there is a shield or enchantment in place that you don’t know how to defeat.”

“Excellent point—not that I should expect less from Dorian. Do you think that’s likely?”

“Almost certainly.”

“No spell’s permanent, of course. Someone powerful enough could blast through it—or several someones. And that’s the thing. She probably had multiple people helping set up these defenses, just like with the blight. This thing’s going to be a bitch to crack.”

Volusian considered. “Yes, but there is probably a trick or simpler way of undoing any protective magic around the gifts. No one wants to be locked out of their own spell, and she must get through her defenses occasionally to move new objects in.”

My head was hurting from all the growing complications. “So, there’s something else we have to figure out. Unless we can just make it work with brute magical force.”

“That is still an option,” he agreed.

“Thanks. You can go.”

I sighed and stretched back out on the bed, trying to figure out how I was going to stage a master escape plan when my allies consisted of a bunch of restrained prisoners, a spirit confined to a hallway, and a bird that may or may not understand me. Glancing over, I saw that Volusian was still standing there and watching me.

“What?” I asked. “Is there something else?”

“The Oak King had another message for you.”

“Oh? What was it?”

“He said ...” I again got that vibe of distaste from Volusian. “He said to tell you he misses you and takes comfort in knowing your room is close to his—though it’s still not nearly close enough. He says he will lie in bed tonight and imagine the distance between you is gone and that you are there with him.”

“My God ,” I said, nearly bursting out laughing. “I thought it was bad for you before.”

Volusian made no response. I tried to adopt some seriousness but knew I was grinning.

“Tell him that’s very sweet but awfully presumptuous, in light of our history.”

Volusian disappeared and returned about a minute later. “The Oak King says that in light of the current situation, he imagines you might be more open to such suggestions. He said—and I quote—‘Daring escapes do wonders for passion. What would ordinarily be deemed presumptuous might actually seem quite reasonable in troubled times. Perhaps the blight wouldn’t have been so cold, had we come to that conclusion sooner.’”

I scoffed. “Well, tell him that remains to be seen, seeing as we haven’t pulled off any daring escape yet.”

Volusian hesitated. “Mistress, I have never asked anything of you in my servitude. But now, I beg you this: do not make me keep passing these adolescent sentiments back and forth all night.”

“Fair enough,” I said, feeling a smile start to return. “Go ahead and tell Dorian that too. This is the last note you pass tonight. I need some sleep, and it takes too much power to keep you here.”

Volusian didn’t thank me—that would be asking too much—but he did look relieved. He vanished into the darkness and didn’t come back that night.

I tried to sleep in earnest, knowing I’d need my strength for whatever wacky mishaps were to come. That’s easier said than done in enemy hands—especially for an insomniac like me—and I tossed and turned a fair amount. Sleep did finally come after a couple of hours, mercifully free of dreams. I didn’t wake until something pulled at my hair. At first, I shrugged it off in my sleepy state. Then, it happened again, a tug so painful I yelped and opened my eyes.

And found Spots the falcon staring at me, about two inches from my face.

“Jesus Christ!” I jumped up, certain my eyes were about to be pecked out. “Couldn’t you just squawk from the window? Or tap the wall with your beak?”

Spots made no reply, save to preen his wing.

“I assume you’re here for a reason,” I said. “But you probably can’t tell me.”

He looked back up at me and extended a leg. Peering closely, I saw a teeny-tiny roll of paper tied there. Carefully, unsure if he’d decide to gouge me with his claws, I removed the miniature scroll from his leg. The paper was very fine and delicate, and I was half afraid it would tear before I could unroll it. When I finally got a good look at it, I could see a handful of words scrawled in tiny writing: