“Lani and Meg are calming them down.” Unconsciously Samheed touched the scars on his neck. “They’re upset about what the leaders tell you at Warbler,” he said. He sat down and jiggled his foot. “That Queen Eagala would come after anyone who escaped, identify them by their orange eyes, and kill them. Lani and I nearly busted up laughing the first time we heard that back in Warbler, but Crow and Sky are really afraid. And upset because of what they’ve brought on us by escaping and landing here. Sky is a mess over it.”

“I was afraid of that.” Alex sighed, but then he perked up and pointed at the empty chairs in the room. “Sit down, guys,” he urged.

Samheed looked like he was full of questions, but apparently he knew enough not to ask them now.

Alex glanced at Simber, as if he wanted the giant stone cheetah’s approval of the decision to invite these friends to the meeting. Simber dipped his head slightly, barely a nod, but the meaning was clear to Alex that Simber thought well of the plan.

Alex expelled a breath, trying to push his nervousness out with it, and leaned back against the desk, half sitting on the corner of it. “Hi, everyone. Thank you for coming so quickly,” he said. He looked at the three new, earnest faces in the room and felt immediately assured he’d made the right choice. “Now then,” he continued, clasping his hands in his lap, “let’s figure this all out, shall we?”

It was the voice of a leader. A leader who, for perhaps the first time, felt and sounded quite sure of himself.

A Word from Clive

Samheed, in a minor fit of anxiety over being included as an advisor, took painstaking notes at the meeting in an effort to prove his usefulness to the intimidating group. By the end of twenty minutes, his record of the conversation looked something like this:

—Florence to organize and prepare squads as usual. Also will assign squad placement along shore and give all info to Alex for distribution via blackboard.

—As fleet approaches, Haluki to sail out via Claire’s boat to leader vessel and try for peaceful resolution.

—Carina reminds us most Warblerans canĐt swim. How will they approach without running their ships aground? Advantage for Artimé?

—Alex suggests stationing all orange-eyed residents—me, Lani, Sky, Crow—in water for safety since Warblerans can’t swim. Dumb idea, Stowe! They can still throw or shoot weapons at us. I suggest library third floor instead and adding Meg too because of thornament scars, as Lani and I believe Queen Eagala will seek revenge for her escape.

—Alex to expand hospital wing. Ms. Morning to take charge as chief healer, with Henry Haluki and other nurses as her assistants.

—Simber to monitor approach.

—We think Eagala has some kind of magic, e.g., the silence spell over nonhuman noises on Warbler, but no one’s sure what is the extent of it. Lani and I did not witness inhabitants using any magic. Carina to find out if Sky and Crow have info.

—After lengthy discussion, we decided to help defend Quill if Warbler breaches the wall, but we always take care of Artiméans first.

—Our goal: defend Artimé and drive Warblerans away with as few casualties as possible.

—Artiméans should feel perfectly comfortable using any and all means of magic to protect themselves.

—Any Warblerans who truly wish to escape the tyrant Queen Eagala will find shelter within Artimé.

In addition, there were many scratched-out notes as the multitude of ideas were broken down and some discarded as being faulty. When they had run out of ideas, the team dispersed to prepare for battle in their various ways.

Alex descended the marble staircase and found Sky and Crow in the dining room with Meghan, looking glum. He checked the time and then walked over to them.

They looked up when he approached. Sky’s hair was still as sleek and fashioned as it had been at the masquerade ball a few hours earlier, but she no longer wore her dress. Instead she was dressed like any other Artiméan ready for battle, with a component vest and everything.

Alex felt breathless around her whenever she looked at him, even now, but he forced himself to stay focused. He pulled a chair around, sat on it backward, and lowered his head until his chin rested on the chair back and he was face-to-face with Crow. “You okay, little guy?”

Crow nodded, but his eyes told a different story.

“I need you to hear me. Both of you,” he said, glancing briefly at Sky as well. “It appears we are going to be attacked, and it’ll happen in a few hours. You guys can sit here and feel terrible about it even though it is not your fault, or you can help us prepare.”

“We’ll help, of course,” murmured Sky in her husky voice, damaged by the thorns she once wore around her neck. Crow dropped his gaze, but he nodded in agreement.

“Good,” Alex said. “Because we need you.”

The brief pep talk seemed to rally them, giving them new resolve.

Alex headed next to the area near the landing so he could expand the hospital wing while he waited for Florence to report back with warrior instructions. He held up his hands to the small four-bed room and concentrated, thinking about the size room he wanted, and when he felt quite confident, he whispered, “Extend and heal, size large.”

The small room’s walls grew, pushing back to create a larger space. They glided smoothly as the floor and ceiling hastened along with them, fixtures and workstations pressing out from the bare walls. When the room ceased to move, the beds and tables popped out and dropped neatly into place.