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Belén shrugs "‘The mind of God is a mystery and none can understand it’ Damián the Shepherd never knehy he was co before the well caused an accident that ended a battle We may never knohy Elisa was called to serve in this way"

"You knohat else this azes down atother than s a rebellion, saving Brisadulce, finding the zafira, negotiating peace with Invierne--none of it was your act of service Your Godstone didn’t drive you to do all those things You did them all yourself"

I understand their words but can’t absorb theht now is that the Godstone no longer pulses insidebeneath the crust of the world I won’t be able to call upon its aid to save my home

I aency of our journey does not abate, but I’ to take my meals a few strides ahere I can feel a little bit alone I’h I ought to think it through, learn who I aain, before I’m fit company for everyone else

One afternoon, when I’, I pull lih its center snags onhappens Not even a tickle of power

I try again in the evening, this ti the pristine jewel I retrieved from Lucero’s altar Maybe I can be like Stor happens No round myself to the earth, I re aze out across the expanse of desert, slitting ainst my cheek This place is still part of h I’ve been severed from the world

I feel a hand on my shoulder "No one thinks any less of you," Mara says, and I wonder if she spied on hs "But if you need to be unreasonable for a while, go ahead"

I a unreasonable But the Godstone has been an inextricable part of me--both my body and my life--and I don’t kno else to be

"You coht as we lie in our tent "You ely relieved, to tell you the truth"

"But I’m powerless," I whisper

"Yes, powerless," he echoes "Which is why I have no desire to do this" He kisses er "Which is why I can easily say no to this" He presses his lips toand deep "And why I aainst his, and his hand slips under the hem of my shirt "Do you see, Elisa?" he says, his voice dark "How little power you have overI take breakfast with everyone else

Exhausted and saddle sore, with sand creeping into crevices I didn’t realize I had, we reach Brisadulce in a record teeks Gloriously high walls blend seamlessly into the desert landscape Were it not for the steady stream of traffic in either direction, you’d never know you approached a massive city, until all of a sudden it rises frouarded by tiny toy soldiers who peer froular crenellations I breathe deep of the war and ocean salt and hot-baked sand, and I love it

Hector holds up a fist, and we pause well outside the view of the city guard The laughing, affectionate, talkative Hector has been replaced by the other one, the coldly calculating colare and says, "The guard at the ate is tripled," he says "I’et in through the harbor?" Belén asks "We could disguise ourselves as sailors or dockworkers"

Froertips to my navel to send up a quick prayer for wisdom and luck, only to find concave emptiness So I send my prayer out into the nebulous ht be sending it nowhere at all--while I wonder if God hears This is what it’s like to be everyone else, to pray and never have a physical assurance that sonized anyway," Mara says "We’re too well known to the city watch The general has eyes everywhere; I’d bet my spice satchel on it"

"Not me," Red says "No one knows me"

"Surely there’s a secret way in?" I say "Every ruler has an egress from his own city"

"There used to be a tunnel," Hector says "It collapsed in the war I keptto tend to it, but it was low onhis I-have-failed-to-protect-you tone "We’ll find another way What about the sewers? They lead to the cliffs and the sea, right? Are they cliroans "Sewers Caves Why does it always have to be sewers and caves?"

Hector rubs at his chin "It’s possible They are slick and dangerous But our biggest obstacle would be the surf just below It’s hard to get close in a boat without getting pounded to death"

"We need disguises," Belén says

Hector shakes his head "They’re searching everyone who seems suspicious We can’t risk it If they search us, we’ll be recognized for sure"

"I have an idea," I say Triu power

They all turn to rins

"The monastery is open to the public," I say "We’ll send Red to Father Nicandro Ask hi us priests’ robes and escort us into the city We’ll pose as visiting clergy froe to God’s first riood plan," Hector says

"I prefer it to sewers," Mara says

"It could be dangerous for the girl," Belén says "Her Invierno blood is strong"

"I’ll do it," Red says with a lift of her tiny chin "It’s justthe, noisy place"

She shrugs "I can do it"

"All right, then" I crouch down before her "I’ to write this down, in case it’s intercepted, so you ive her specific directions to the monastery and ask her to repeat them back to me She does, flawlessly, and I silently vow to find the best possible tutor for the girl and her quick et to the monastery, ask for Father Nicandro Insist that you have a e for him He is the head priest, and not everybody has access to him So whoever you speak ill ask you to tell thee is for Father Nicandro only If pressed, say it’s a e from Ambassador Alentín and must be delivered in private"

Alentín’s naht, as well as the head of Queen Cosation