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“Please,” Sil says. “Your control is perfect now. You haven’t had an accident in months.”

“Let’s go over the plan again,” I say, and everyone groans except Ash, who is always quiet during dinner. He usually shovels food into his mouth as quickly as possible and then escapes to the barn to be among the chickens and goats Sil keeps. And Turnip.

Turnip was the nickname he gave his younger sister, Cinder. She died a month ago of black lung. Lucien heard about it through one of his contacts in the Smoke, a young boy who calls himself the Thief. He helped Ash get a chance to say good-bye to his sister before we escaped that circle. I guess he kept tabs on her after.

Ash swallows the last of his chicken, shoves a piece of potato in his mouth, and stands.

“Ladies,” he says with a nod to the table. He kisses the top of my head and walks over to the sink. Ash has heard all this before. I feel a bite of guilt, after our argument today, that he is not part of this plan, that this is something I intend to do without him. But I can’t help that—it’s the Paladin who need to take down the wall, and Ash isn’t a Paladin.

I go to the side cupboard and take out several rolls of paper. One is a map of the city. The others are copies of the blueprints of the Auction House.

“So,” I say, unfurling the map in the center of the table, “in a few days, we’ll leave for Westgate. Sil, you’ll stay here and coordinate with the Whistler in the Farm.

“We’ve got four girls left at Westgate, seven at Northgate, and five at Eastgate.” I point to the numbers that have been scribbled over each facility, then scrub out the 3 over Southgate with an eraser. “Indi, Sienna, and Olive, once we get to your respective facilities and show the girls the elements, you will—”

“Stay in a safe house until the night before the Auction,” Sienna says in a dull monotone.

“Where we will sneak back into the facilities with the help of any girl who can connect with Earth,” Indi says brightly.

“And then we hide on the trains until they leave for the Auction,” Olive finishes. A gleam shines in her eye. “That’s when we take out the caretakers and the doctor.”

“You’re not killing them, Olive,” I say. “Just knocking them unconscious.”

“I’m sure we’ll be able to manage,” Raven says. “It was just Charity and Dr. Steele on our train there.”

“Northgate always sends three caretakers,” Sienna says.

“They’ll still be outnumbered,” I say.

“The Regimentals will be waiting for you at the Auction House,” Sil reminds us.

“And it’s Garnet’s job to delay them as long as he can,” I say, rolling up the map and taking out the blueprints. “And remember, if anything happens on the train, if you get found out or . . . or anything. Get to the walls. Bringing down the walls is crucial. And even if it’s not the wall that surrounds the Jewel, breaking down any royal barrier is a success for our cause.”

Olive pouts a little but keeps quiet. There are multiple sheets of blueprints of the Auction House, because not only are there many different rooms, there are several floors beneath it. I pin them down with plates and glasses.

The Auction House is built in a large dome with other smaller domes and turrets piled up around it, various rooms where the royalty are entertained while they wait to purchase surrogates. And of course, the amphitheater where the Auction itself takes place. But there are also—as Lucien pointed out—the Waiting Rooms and prep rooms and a train station on the floors below, chambers for the servants to wait in, and powder rooms for young royal ladies to fix their hair and makeup. And there are secure rooms, safe rooms, in case any danger should befall the Jewel during the Auction. These rooms have thick walls and iron doors. They are where the royalty will run to if threatened. We’ll have them trapped, while the city falls around them.

The Auction is the biggest social event of the year. Lucien told us that every married royal is allowed to attend, so they don’t need invitations like they would for the Exetor’s Ball or a simple House party. Anyone who can attend does. It will be the highest concentration of royals in one place.

“So we’ll get in here,” I say, pointing to the underground train station, on the blueprint that shows the lowest levels of the Auction House. “And we’ll have to be ready right away. Sil is right, there will be Regimentals expecting four trainloads of unconscious girls. And Garnet might not be able to delay them long, if at all. We should expect a fight.”

“Yes, and most of the Regimentals he’s been able to bring over to our side don’t work in the Jewel,” Raven says. “He says the Jewel Regimentals are the worst.”

Garnet has gone from wild party boy to upstanding citizen in a head-spinning amount of time. While all royal men are technically officers in the Regimental army, it’s always been more of an honorary title. No one actually serves. But once Garnet chose to serve in the search for Ash, he discovered a lot of discontent among the Regimental forces, especially in the lower circles. Now he’s using that to our advantage.

“I do wish there were an easier way,” Indi says wistfully. “One that didn’t involve violence.”

“You want us to fight them with hugs?” Sienna asks.

“Love is stronger than hate,” Indi says.

“Violence is the only option, so there isn’t any point in arguing about it,” I say, cutting Sienna off before she can retort. “Once we’re inside, everything needs to happen at once. We need to contain the Regimentals. We need to cause so much panic that the royalty run and hide in their precious safe rooms. Then we need to get to the wall.”

“And you and I set off the signal,” Sienna says to me, flicking her lighter open once more.

I nod. “You and I set off the signal.”

“And everything goes up in flames,” she says. The lighter’s flame glows in her dark eyes.