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“You actually pulled it off,” she says to Remy, disbelief coating her tone.
I answer for him. “If bypulled it off, you mean that he’s put himself directly in Madame’s line of fire and promised to do any number of morally questionable things on her behalf, then sure. It was a smashing success.”
“If bypulled it off, you mean that Aika wasn’t tortured or worse tonight, then it was, in fact, a smashing success,” he contradicts me, drawing out the last two words.
I open my mouth to argue, but Zaina cuts me off.
“I see she used her serum,” she says, assessing Remy before digging in her case full of tonics. “But she really believed you were there to work for her?”
She directed the question to him, but her eyes slide to me for confirmation.
“She seemed to,” I respond.
“She really is getting desperate.” Zaina shakes her head, handing Remy an uncorked vial. He shrugs and downs the entire thing.
“And I will admit that Remy played his part well.” As much as I hate encouraging him, I can’t deny that he did what few people are capable of, without any time to plan, without ever having dealt with her in her capacity as Madame before.
“This wasn’t ideal,” Einar muses, his voice low and thoughtful. “But it could work in our favor.”
“You might want to hold that thought,” Remy says, downing another tonic. “Unless you fancy a trip to the countryside.”
At Einar’s questioning sound, I expound. “She wants you out of the palace.”
“That’s—” Einar begins before my sister cuts him off.
“Workable.” She exchanges a look with him that I can barely make out in the dark carriage, but her voice is full of grim determination. “Since it looks like we need to go with our back-up plan.”
Our back-up plan involves luring Madame to the castle, something that will be possible if Einar isn’t there. Then trapping her, which we have no idea how to do, or eliminating her, which is even less likely.
“The one where we have no idea if it will work, and a number of people may or may not die?” Remy echoes my thoughts.
“Unless you have a better plan,” she counters, but she sounds more hopeful than irritated.
Remy shakes his head, though.
“We’ve eliminated a number of her allies,” Einar points out. “And we have time to secure that. She won’t expect me to leave immediately.”
“She expects…results from Remy and me within the month, though,” I say.
“Sooner, probably, given that she called you early this time,” Zaina corrects.
“So two weeks?” Einar suggests.
“That feels risky, all things considered,” Remy argues, a shudder running through him. He’s probably thinking about the same thing I am, her dungeons and what horrors she will inflict on us both if we are found to have flouted her once more.
“I agree,” Zaina says. “And there’s no point in waiting anymore. Let’s make it one week.”
The air between us feels tense, even as we all nod our concurrence.
One week. It feels like too long, and yet like hardly any time at all.
Seven days until this is all over, one way or another.
CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR
REMY
We spent the rest of the carriage ride solidifying our plan, which is simple, at its core.
