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“Four hundred.” She curses, but then sets her jaw. “I can put it out with water.”
“Because you are a caster,” I say with hesitation.
A strange look passes over her face. “Yes, I am. Look, it’s the only plan I can think of to get them outside without having Jarek kill every guard. I don’t want that. He is fine with that.” She nods toward where the legionary hovers.
I’m sure he could kill every one of them, but I don’t want these children witnessing a slaughter, and the risk to them would be great. “The guards are only doing their jobs.” And some of them have been relatively kind to me considering my impish child. Boaz is the only one whose loss I would not mourn. I bite my lip. “We just need to get them outside, right?”
“And to the nymphaeum, yes.”
“Okay, I think I might have a better plan, one that doesn’t involve burning down the castle or murdering people.”
Corrin’s—Romeria’s—eyes light up. “I’m all ears.”
I forgot how odd she was sometimes, with the things she said and the way she spoke, so casually, and unlike the stiff-backed nobility.
The kitchen door swings open. “I don’t think those people can wait an hour for the …” The real Corrin stops dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping as she takes in her doppelgänger standing next to me.
My stomach leaps into my throat as the legionary steps forward, his dagger out. “No!”
But Romeria grins and slips off her mask. “Let me guess. Stew. My favorite.”
Fikar is collecting the soup bowls when Corrin clears her throat, giving me a pointed look. She isn’t thrilled about this plan, but it didn’t take much convincing to get her to agree.
It’s time.
My insides turn somersaults as I make my way to the guard by the door. “I would like to take the children out for some air.”
“There’s plenty of air in here.”
“Fresh air. They could use a walk to stretch their legs.” I pray he cannot read my lie through my pulse.
He shakes his head. “You’re not allowed to leave.”
Princess Romeria gave me a short window to try it my way. I have no idea where she and that warrior went, but if I cannot convince this fool to let us out, I fear he will not live long. Knowing that bolsters my confidence. “His Highness put me in charge of these children and promised you would grant my requests. Did your captain not tell you this?”
“Grant you requests, yeah. Not let them leave.”
“For a walk around the walled garden, with guards everywhere? Are you sure?”
He frowns.
But I haven’t swayed him yet. “The last person who displeased His Highness where I was involved lost his head, and he was a lord. I would not want that to happen to you upon his return, when he asks if the guards complied and I am compelled to speak the truth.” Fates, I think I might pass out. Where did the nerve to deliver that idle warning come from? “The garden is right there, and there is no escape. Where can the children possibly go?”
His lips twist. “This from the mortal who cannot keep track of one little boy?”
“To be fair, neither can all the guards in the castle, it seems.” I dare a coy smile.
His eyes drop to my mouth and he smirks.
He thinks I’m flirting with him. I clear my throat. “Mortal children need fresh air. If they are cooped up for too long, they can become ill.”
Doubt flickers across his face.
I rush to add, “And tiring them out now will help them sleep better later. Otherwise, they will become restless, and restless children can cry for hours. Imagine this many of them crying all night long.”
That seems to push him over the edge. “You cannot manage all of them out there.”
“I can!” I nod with confidence. “There are ten servants and enough older children to task each with minding two younger ones. Honestly, they are too scared to leave our sides, anyway. But if you would prefer to walk with us …” I hold my breath, hoping he’ll dismiss the offer.
He sighs reluctantly. Nodding toward two other guards nearby, he announces, “We’re escorting them through the garden.”
I stifle my regret—I hope I didn’t just assign them all a death sentence—and clap my hands. “Children! Listen up!” Ears perk and curious gazes veer my way. “We are going to do something extra special now. Something that most mortals will never get a chance to do in their whole lives.” I hope my attempt to inspire excitement works. “We are going to take a walk through the royal garden.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
ROMERIA
We watch from behind a thick hedge as the glass doors to the ballroom open and children spill out, the older ones holding the youngers’ hands, Gracen corralling them in her gentle manner, her baby cocooned within a sling over her chest to free her hands. Mika trails behind her, babbling to an attractive young blond mortal woman who holds Lilou’s hand. Whoever she is, Gracen has entrusted her with guarding her kids.
