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Demos’s eyes were dark with grief. “Close to Crawyth,” he said, his voice hoarse. “The forest runs across the Gromalian and Eprothan borders, although most of it is on the Eprothan side. According to the information we found, water has been moving beneath the forest—through the soil and rock layers—creating voids and passages for thousands of years. Those passages are now a large labyrinth of caves. And somewhere in those caves is the hourglass that was given to our ancestors.”
Prisca closed her eyes. “So close.”
Yes. The hourglass had been so close to her parents. To her mother, who could have used the hourglass to save her people. I had no doubt Regner had enjoyed that knowledge.
Everyone was silent as Prisca attempted to come to terms with the information. Finally, she opened her eyes. “The note said it’s possible the hourglass could be moved soon. What do you know about that?”
“He’s still planning to move it. But he’s well aware that moving it will be the most dangerous time. He knows we have spies watching him.”
“If we were to wait until he moved it, he’d use it as bait and trap us,” Asinia said.
Demos nodded. “We need to go for it. Quickly.”
“The caves could stretch out for thousands of foot-spans,” Prisca said. “How will we narrow down where the hourglass is?”
Demos’s smile was a grim twist of his lips. “I have someone near Crawyth. He lives in the area and has mapped parts of the caves throughout the years. I’ll request a copy of those maps, and we’ll refine the area to search from there.”
It was a good plan. At least, it was now that Cavis and I would be traveling with them.
The conversation wrapped up relatively quickly after that. Tibris took watch and Cavis stumbled in, ruffling Prisca’s hair. “Good to see you.” He sat at the table, gulped down some stew, and meandered upstairs for some sleep.
“I want to go with you,” Thol said.
I tamped down my instant denial. He might only be able to track people, but that power would be extremely helpful after we found the hourglass. Besides, as much as I would prefer for him to be far from my wildcat, this would at least allow me to keep an eye on him.
Prisca gazed at him. “We can leave you with enough coin to start a new life somewhere, Thol,” she said gently.
He gave her a venomous look that almost got him killed. I let out a low growl, and Thol cleared his expression. “I have nowhere to go. No one left. If finding this hourglass will allow you to fight Regner, I want to go too. If this is my life now, then I’ll spend it making him pay for what he has done.”
Prisca nodded. “Very well.”
Demos didn’t look convinced, but Thol got to his feet, turned, and walked away.
* * *
“Talk to me, wildcat,” Lorian urged from behind me. I kept my gaze on the street below us, where people went about their normal days, buying food for dinner from the market, complaining about their husbands, managing their children.
“Tibris is waiting for me. I need to go speak with him soon.”
“Speak with him?”
“He knows what needs to happen next, and he’s waiting for me to ask.” I blew out a breath and turned, meeting his eyes. “Tibris is a healer. All the time he spent traveling from home to home, healing wounds and sicknesses…it allowed him to understand people. He knows how to talk to them in ways that they respond the best to. He became the only person some of themcouldtalk to, and they would call him back not just to treat their external wounds, but to help them with their internal wounds as well.”
He frowned. “You’re thinking of sending him to the rebels.”
I nodded. The thought made me want to heave, but Tibris was smart, trained, and a healer. If we attempted to send a group, they would likely be attacked. By sending a healer, we were telling the rebels we trusted them not to hurt one of our own, and that we didn’t want to hurt them either.
“It still takes me by surprise sometimes,” Lorian murmured.
“What does?”
“How natural you are at this.”
My mouth fell open, and his eyes darkened as they dropped to my lips. But he raised his gaze once more. “Not only are you a natural-born leader, but the trauma of your past has shaped you into exactly who you need to be.”
“How?”
“You had to pay excruciatingly close attention to anyone and everyone. You had to know who could potentially be trusted, and you had to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those around you. Because if you were suddenly discovered, even those who might try to save you could become a liability. The terror you lived with has given you an incredible ability to evaluate people and determine where they are best used.”
