me just half as much as I love you. Because I do.”
“But you’re still going to kill him,” Jonnen said.
“Yes,” she replied. “I am.”
“Please don’t.”
“I must.”
“He’s my father, Mia.”
“Mine, too.”
“But I love him.”
Mia met her brother’s eyes. Seeing the years lost between them, the love he felt for the man who’d taken him away from her. The wrong, rotting at the heart of that. And slowly, she shook her head.
“O, Jonnen,” she sighed. “That’s just one more reason he deserves to die.”
They traveled on, through the Whisperwastes in what little silence Sid’s ironsong spared them. And though the boy’s eyes swam with questions, he gave voice to none of them after that.
Though there was always a risk of sand kraken, the Red Church had been running supplies from Last Hope for years, and Naev guided them along paths of submerged stone, broken foothills, and finally into the mountains at the wastes’ northern reaches. Mia could see a black stone spire rising before them—just one of dozens in the range. It was plain. Unassuming. Capped with pale and gleaming snow. But Mia’s heart beat quicker to see it. The heart of the Ministry, the temple of the Mother, the cradle of the Red Church’s power in the Republic.
The Quiet Mountain.
Mia knew an ancient magik called the Discord had been placed on the peak years past—a werking to confuse unwelcome visitors. But Naev knew the words that would keep the magik at bay. Slowly, surely, their wagon train made its way through twisted gullies and broken foothills, closer to the towering granite peak. The Whisperwastes had been long left behind them—Sid and Butcher had ceased their ironsong, crawling into the middle wagon to consult with Mia and Ash about the upcoming assault. Tric had left the reins to Naev, and he and Bladesinger joined the group, gathering in a small circle around a large oaken barrel.
“Right,” Mia said. “Once we get inside, we stay quiet as long as we’re able. If the alarm is raised, we’ll have every Blade and Hand in the place on us like flies on shite. But if we walk it right, these bastards won’t even know we’re there ’til it’s half over.”
She took a piece of charcoal, began drawing a complex map on the wagon floor.
“Tric, Ashlinn, and Naev all know their way around the Mountain, so the rest of you will follow their lead. The inside of this place is like a damned maze, so watch your step. It’s easy to get turned around in the dark. Tric, you, Sid, and Bladesinger head to the speaker’s chambers. Protect Adonai and cut off the blood pool. Scaeva cannot be allowed to escape the Mountain. Ash, you and Naev head to the Athenaeum and secure Mercurio. If you can’t find him there, he’ll likely be in his chambers. Guard him with your life and get him to the speaker. Butcher, you and Eclipse stay in the stables and protect Jonnen. If all goes well, I’ll fetch you when it’s done. If all goes to shit, you ride back to Last Hope hard as you can, get out by sea.”
A stupider man might’ve grumbled at being left behind to babysit, but Butcher was obviously aware of the import of his task of protecting her kin, and how deeply Mia was trusting him by giving it to him.
“Aye, Crow.” He thumped a fist on his chest. “I’ll guard him with my life.”
“And what about you?” Sidonius asked, clearly concerned.
“I’m going after the Ministry,” Mia said.
“Alone?” Ashlinn asked.
Mia nodded. “Best way to do it. It’ll be early morn by the time we arrive. Drusilla will probably be with Scaeva and Marielle, so I’ll save them for once we’re all ready. But as far as Solis and the Ministry go, I can have the head off the snake before it knows I’m there.”
“… SOLIS ALMOST KILLED YOU THE LAST TIME YOU FOUGHT, MIA…,” Eclipse murmured.
“Aye,” Mia nodded, smiling at Naev. “But there’s not much that goes on in the Mountain that Chronicler Aelius doesn’t know about. And he’s given me a gift to even the scales.”
She looked about the group, met each stare in turn.
“Any questions?”
Though she had no doubt every one of them was burning with them, Mia’s companions kept their silence. She nodded to each, acutely aware of how much they risked for her, how deeply grateful she was to all of them. She squeezed Sidonius’s hand, gave Bladesinger a fierce hug, kissed Butcher’s cheek. Each donned a Hand’s stolen