Page 68 of Sharpest Court

“We have to,” Keil said. “Not only because we can’t destroy the compass without it, but because Erik will already be trying to get it first.”

Goren crossed his arms. “The people of Banarrat have kept the location of Saxon’s tomb a secret for generations so nobody could pay their respects. It was their right as the foremost victims of Saxon’s rampage. If you try to uncover its location, or violate the site, General Holden will never renew the treaty. You could cost us the war.”

“Which is why we can’t get caught,” Keil said. “And why we need your help.”

Goren’s jaw flickered. “Is that an order or a request?”

“A request,” Keil answered without hesitation. “To all of you.”

Osana huffed a disbelieving laugh. “A request to help bring together the two objects that won Saxon an empire? It’s too dangerous.”

“Osana’s right,” Dashiel said to me, brow low with concern. “A Hunter is tracking you. If she finds you with those objects before you can destroy them, even the protection of the Gallery might not stop her from taking them. She could offer Erik exactly what he needs, and you would be facilitating his rise to power.”

“Mara is not getting anywhere near Alissa again,” Keil said darkly.

“But she’s going to try,” Goren retorted. “And so will Erik. As long as Alissa has that compass, he won’t stop.”

My confidence unraveled as Erik’s words returned to me: I will find you, Little Thorn. It will be in my hands again.

This was a mistake. Keil’s companions wouldn’t help me with this, yet I’d revealed my secrets to them anyway.

I was tucking the compass into my pocket, cursing myself, when Valeria asked sternly, “So what do you all suggest? We sit back while Erik keeps going after Alissa? While he attempts to penetrate Banarrat over and over?”

“Erik is one man,” Dashiel said.

“And two centuries ago, another man’s spite led to the legal execution of thousands of Daradonian Wielders.” Valeria’s voice darkened in reference to King Hoyt, the creator of the Execution Decree. “Don’t underestimate those who possess enough power to wield their hatred as a weapon.” Then she ran her gaze over the room, catching each pair of eyes. “This became our fight the moment other Wielders—our people—came under attack an ocean away. Rheya knows it, which is why she allied with Carmen. I know it, which is why I journeyed to Daradon. And Alissa knows it, because she took that compass from Erik when she could’ve run.”

My heart squeezed with gratitude as Valeria turned toward me, her features set in determination.

“I don’t know how you plan to take the Unbreakable Blade from Banarrat,” she said. “But I’ll help you however I can.”

“I will, too,” Lye said, solemn. Then, with a trace of his typical humor, “You’ll need someone on the team who can actually pick locks.”

My tentative hope blossomed as Dashiel also spoke up. “You truly believe we can take the blade without General Holden finding out?”

“Yes,” Keil said. “I believe we can.”

Dashiel took a deep breath, then expelled it in a blast. “Then I’m in.”

Keil nodded his thanks.

“If Holden discovers what we’re doing,” Goren said, “his troops will outnumber us by thousands. Even I’ve never fought with those odds.”

Keil awaited his response, not attempting to sway him either way.

Finally, Goren sighed. “But there’s a first time for everything.”

As a group, we turned toward Osana, and I held still with anticipation. Because although she was probably the person here who disliked me the most, I believed we shared an equal loathing when it came to the Daradonian monarchy. An equal pain, too.

She met my eyes, the look steady and somehow raw. “You’re asking us to go behind Rheya’s back. To risk Arun’s wrath for you.”

“Not for me,” I said. “The Wielders Erik Hunted might still be suffering. And they, like all the Wielders of Daradon, will continue to suffer until he falls from power.”

Emotion thickened my throat as I thought of Marge, even though I knew I couldn’t get swept up in what was still only a theory. When I’d believed Keil was being held prisoner, I’d blazed into danger without confirming the facts, and it had cost me.

So while it pained me to imagine that this particular hunch was correct—that Marge and the other Hunted Wielders had been kept for all these months as experiments—I had to stick to my plan. I could only save those Wielders by defeating Erik.

And the best route to defeating Erik was through the compass.