“The best way to tackle something like this is by breaking it down into several smaller missions,” he said. “The first mission? Packing up, which we’ll do tonight when Hudson gets here with the supplies. The next mission is getting through the portal to Blackbone Forest. After that, we get a new mission. See how this works?”
“Lasagna,” I whispered, the knots in my stomach loosening. It was just like I’d gotten through the dark days after the bathtub incident. First, warm up the lasagna. Then take one bite. Then a piece. Then the whole pan.
“Is that one of her things too?” Jax asked Elian. “Calling out random foods?”
“I’m… not sure. Maybe she’s hungry again?”
“How is that possible? She ate all the jambalaya and most of the cornbread.”
“Not to mention the dirty rice,” Elian said.
I laughed as the two of them studied me like some kind of zoo exhibit. “I’m good. I promise. Let’s get back to these near-but-not-quite-impossible missions, yes?”
Elian got to his feet again, pacing in front of the table as Jax and I returned our attention to the map.
“Other than the soldiers,” Elian said, “the majority of the population lives here in Amaranth.” He leaned over and circled it on the map. “You want to get to Keradoc? We’ll need to get inside the city first.”
“Isn’t he out fighting battles and slaughtering innocent villagers?” I asked. “I mean, warlord, right? One job.”
“There are no innocents in Midnight,” Jax said.
“And Keradoc’s not a soldier,” Elian said. “He’s a politician whoplaysat being a soldier, waging his wars from behind a desk safely locked away in a fortified tower. The only time his weapons see any action is when he’s bored and orders his minions to bring him something to decapitate or set on fire.”
“You’re saying he’s got a thing for vampires,” I said, and Jax laughed. I was truly starting to like the guy.
Ignoring us both, Elian said, “We won’t be able to figure out Keradoc’s current location until we’re in the city. There, even the walls have ears. So, our first order of business in Midnight is getting from the portal…” He made an X over Blackbone. “…to the city. The southeastern quadrant is the weakest point, so that’s our objective.” He made another X near the city, then circled it.
“Is there a checkpoint or something?” I asked. “Watchmen? Or do we just… show up?”
He drew a curved line with several Xs running along the bottom of the city, all the way from the Razorback Mountains to Dead Claw.
“Vanderham’s Wall,” he explained. “And the watchtowers. The wall itself,” he said, drawing another curve just beneath the first, “is protected by a trench that spans thirty feet across, thirty feet deep.”
“Beggar’s Moat,” Jax said. “Just about thelastfucking place you want to be.”
“A moat?” I asked. “Seriously? As in, alligators?”
Jax ran a finger across the moat. “Worse. Way worse.”
“It’ll take about two days to reach the wall,” Elian said. “There are primarily two ways in.” He drew a line from the center of the wall out across the moat. “The drawbridge, which is lowered from the gatehouse twice per night, allowing Keradoc’s soldiers to come and go, along with any other assholes unlucky enough to be in his service. Mostly military and their outfits—medics, cooks, and the like. Suppliers and traders come and go as well, maybe a few hunters looking for their next trophy from Dead Claw, although most of those fools never make it back.”
“So the rest of the people inside the city are prisoners?” I asked.
“Aside from Keradoc and the other pureblood Midnighters,everyonein the realm is a prisoner. The ones who make it through the wilds and into the city are more protected, but they’re not free, Haley.”
“So why does Keradoc let them stay?”
“Every emperor needs his peasants,” he said. “The working class keeps the city running, which keeps the ruling class in power. The rich get fat and happy off the sweat of their labor, then toss them a few bones once in a while to lull them into complacency. If they start to grumble about inequality, the ruling class simply starts another war, finds them another scapegoat, makes them fear and loathe and turn on each other to divert their attention from the true injustices baked right into the system.”
“On and on the machine grinds,” Jax said. “Until it grinds us all to dust.”
I blew out a breath. For all its reputation as a vile, terrifying kingdom of bloodthirsty exiles, Midnight didn’t sound all that different from the rest of the world here at home.
“Anyway,” Elian continued, “one of us alone could easily sneak in with one of the supply caravans. But with a group, our best bet is option two—goingoverthe wall.”
“Over it?” I asked.
“That’s Hudson’s area of expertise,” he said. “We don’t need to worry about the details right now.”
