“Oh, yes,” Karyn said, and her eyes were alight in a way that reminded Ileni of Sorin. “Yes, I can.”
And then what? The caves were a warren of passageways, of narrow stairways and sharp turns, and—most importantly—of vicious trained killers. The imperial soldiers would be slaughtered.
But Karyn had been in the caves. She had even mapped them. She knew that.
She must have another plan.
Karyn slid one foot forward and reached for the wooden dog. Ileni waited until the last moment before pulling it close, curving her arm around it.
“You can have it,” Ileni said. “But I want something from you first.”
Karyn’s arm twitched. “What’s that?”
Promise not to kill him. But she wasn’t that stupid. Sorin was the leader of the assassins. Karyn would never make that promise, and if she did, she wouldn’t keep it.
Besides, Sorin could take care of himself.
“I want you to leave Girad alone,” Ileni said.
Evin made a sound she couldn’t decipher, not without looking at him. She felt his eyes on her, but kept her gaze locked on Karyn’s face.
“We wouldn’t harvest his power.” Karyn sounded genuinely shocked. Whether she truly was, Ileni couldn’t tell. “We’ll do our best to help him recover.”
“I meant if he recovers. Don’t force him into the Academy.”
“We need Girad,” Karyn said. But she said it slowly.
“As much as you need the assassins weakened?”
A moment of silence.
“Besides,” Ileni said, “if you don’t do this, you’ll lose Girad anyhow. To the next assassin, or the one after that.”
Not a sound from Evin. She had to force herself not to glance at him.
Karyn said, “All right.”
Evin drew in a breath. Still, Ileni didn’t break her focus.
“Is that all you want?” Karyn asked, with exaggerated patience.
“Hardly,” Ileni said, and a sharp pain went through her. She, who was supposed to have the power to change the world, could now barely extract one tiny concession, for the fate of a single child. “But that’s all I’m going to ask for right now.”
She placed the wooden toy in Karyn’s waiting hands.
Light flared in Karyn’s dark eyes, fierce and hungry, and doubt shivered through Ileni. Karyn caressed the dog with one hand and murmured a brief spell—too brief; the bulk of it must have been prepared before. Ileni’s stomach twisted. Karyn had been ready for this—
But it was too late for second thoughts to make a difference. Magic poured into the wooden dog and leaked into the air around it.
“Now,” Karyn said. Her eyes were alight, almost madly so. “Let’s take care of our little assassin problem.”
“Now?” Ileni gaped. “You think—you’re just going to go through? Right now? Into the caves? You’ll be dead before you can take a step.”
“Oh, no.” Karyn leaned forward. “The caves are a death trap. You know that, and I know it. That’s why no one is going there. He’s coming here.” Her teeth flashed white. She reared back and threw the dog—not just with her arm, but with her power. It arced across the bright blue sky, tumbling over and over like a falling bird, and settled lightly atop one of the Judgment Spires.
Karyn was smiling—or rather, hinting at a smile, as if the two of them were sharing a private joke—but the rest of her face made cold dread swirl in Ileni’s stomach. “Call him.”
“What?”
Karyn lifted both arms above her head and brought them down. Dizziness ran through Ileni’s body, followed by a swift wave of nausea. She didn’t need to reach for the lodestones to know her magic was gone. She didn’t need to, and she didn’t, though it cost every ounce of willpower in her. She focused on Karyn’s face, on the sorceress’s glittering, predatory eyes.
“You won’t get the magic back,” Karyn said. “I’ll never give it back, not unless you prove you’re on our side. Call him.”
“You think he’ll come? Like a dog at my call?” Ileni tried to laugh, but what emerged was a sob. “Don’t underestimate him.”
Karyn’s whole face was as sharp as her fierce, triumphant smile. “If he thinks you’re in danger, he’ll come.”
“No.” As if this refusal would change the fact that she had already betrayed him. Ileni swallowed hard, past the solid block in her throat. “I’ve given you what you need to win this battle. I won’t lure him to his death.”
“Because you love him?” Karyn sneered.
Evin jerked, and despite herself, Ileni glanced at him. Then quickly away.
“I won’t do it,” she said. And she was talking to Evin, as much as to Karyn, when she added, “I’m sorry.”
Karyn laughed.
“No need to be,” she said. “Your answer, while disappointing, is not entirely unexpected. He’s already been told you need saving.”
Understanding rushed over Ileni.
“You know.” She stepped back. “You know Lis is sending messages to the assassins.”