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She narrowed her eyes. “Lord Sharma will open the way for you. I will remain behind to stand guard. However, my brother has asked to be considered for a place on your squad. He is a scout.”

“Kazmyn?” I asked curiously. “He was sitting beside Visha wasn’t he?”

“Yes. He is half-dwarven. Kazmyn is five and twenty and has led a sheltered life. He has read too many tall tales of heroic highbloods, and now he craves their company—and adventure.” She looked annoyed again.

I could see Blake trying not to laugh. “Who exactly selects this squad?” I asked. If she said the dwarves, then I knew this might get ugly.

“You will select a leader from among you. The leader will choose who is to go.”

“Obviously you’re the leader,” Blake said, looking at me.

“Me?” I squawked.

“You’re my rider. And you’re leadership material, Pendragon.” He grinned. “I saw that the moment I met you.”

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the jest. Zaira was looking at us in confusion. “Well, Elaria’s just going to love this.”

“Elaria Avari and the other regents are not to be told about any of this,” Zaira said sharply. “Dinesh and I will open the path only for those who you have approved.”

“Because if the other highbloods hear the word treasure or, worse, find out there’s a clutch of eggs,” Blake supplied, “there’d be chaos.”

Zaira nodded. “You will face enough dangers below without also having to contend with another team of highbloods at your throat.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered.

“When do we leave?” Blake asked directly.

“You have one day and one night. We will leave the morning after.”

“One day?” I exclaimed. “One day to prepare?” I hoped my surprise seemed genuine enough. The truth was, we’d already started packing.

She nodded. “There is another reason we cannot delay.” My skin prickled. Zaira’s gaze moved between us. “You have been dealing with a plague.”

“Yes,” I said. “It only affects highbloods, and we’re between waves at the moment.”

“As the Veil cracks, evil seeps in—even below the stones. Do you remember your history?”

Blake was quicker than I. “The Cataclysm,” he said.

Zaira nodded. “When the realms bled together, malevolent beings swarmed Sangratha.”

“That was when the dragons came,” Blake said.

Zaira shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Fuck. Can’t trust anything you learn in school, can you?” Blake shook his head.

“Does that mean this isn’t the first time someone has tried to bring the Veil down?” I demanded.

She gave a wry smile. “Of course not. The longer we delay, the more we risk facing greater evils.”

“Sounds fun,” Blake drawled. He glanced at me, and I knew what he was thinking: Nyxaris had been right.

“How does Viktor play into all of this?” I asked quickly.

“Do you understand the geography of the dwarven kingdom?” Zaira replied.

I shook my head.