We reviewed our plan and I told him about Kiki.

“Sneaking through both the Keep’s and Citadel’s gates without a large animal is hard enough, love,” Valek said.

“I’ll manage. Trust me.”

He gave me a flat stare, showing no emotion.

“I’ll take Kiki out to the plains and give you time to get through the Citadel’s gate before heading toward the meeting site,” I said. “Once Opal is out of harm’s way and Ferde is visible, that’s the sign to move in.”

Valek nodded. “Count on it.”

I put on my cloak and left. Four hours remained until midnight. A few people moved about the campus. The torches along the walkways had been lit and students hurried through the cool night air, heading to an evening class or to meet up with friends. I was a stranger among them. A shadow, watching and yearning to join them, wishing that my worries only focused on studying for one of Bain Bloodgood’s history quizzes.

Kiki waited for me in her stall. I opened the door and let her out. Getting onto her back with a cloak and loaded backpack became an impossible task. I pulled a step stool over and used it.

Need practice, Kiki said. No stool in wild.

Later, I agreed.

Kiki glanced back at Irys’s tower as we started toward the Keep’s gate. Magic Lady.

The guilt I had suppressed about not telling Irys about the exchange threatened to break free. She won’tbe happy.

Kicking mad. Give Magic Lady peppermints.

I laughed, thinking I would need more than peppermints to repair the damage.

Peppermints sweet on both sides, Kiki said.

Cryptic horse advice? Are you sure Moon Man isn’t your father?

Moon Man smart.

I pondered her words, trying to decipher the true meaning. Before we reached the Keep’s gate, I pulled a magic thread to me and projected my awareness. Two guards watched the gate. Bored, one guard thought of the end of his shift with longing; the other considered what he would eat for a late dinner. A magician dozed on a stool. I sent the magician into a deeper slumber, and using the guard’s desires, I encouraged them to focus on something other than the horse and rider passing beneath the gate. As one soldier scanned the sky to see how far the South Star had moved, the other rummaged around the guardhouse looking for something to eat. Both failed to notice us and we soon passed out of sight.

Kiki walked quietly through the Citadel. No farrier would go near a sandseed horse, the breed’s strong disdain for metal shoes was well-known. Four guards watched the Citadel’s gates. Once again, I distracted the guards as we crossed. When we were out of sight of the gate, Kiki broke into a gallop and we headed into the Avibian Plains. When we could no longer see the road or the Citadel, Kiki slowed to a walk.

My thoughts returned to Kiki’s words about peppermints. For the plan to work tonight, we each had to do our part. Both sides needed to be sweet. She had also claimed trust equaled peppermints. Did she refer to Irys instead of Valek?

The answer bloomed in my mind. I didn’t know whether to feel smart for figuring out Kiki’s advice, or feel like a simpleton for having a horse tell me the right thing to do.

Irys, I called in my mind.

Yelena? What’s the matter?

I took a deep breath, steadied my nerves, and told her my plans. Silence, long and empty, followed my confession.

You’ll die, she finally said. You’re no longer my student. I’ll link with the other Master Magiciansand we will stop you before you get to him.

I expected her response. Her anger and immediate censure were the reasons I hadn’t wanted to tell her about the exchange. Irys, you told me I would die before. Remember when we first met in Ixia’sSnake Forest?

She hesitated. Yes.

I was in an impossible position. My magical powers were uncontrolled, you were threatening to kill me and I had been poisoned by Valek. Each course of action from that point seemed to lead tomy eventual death. But I asked you to give me some time, and you did. You hardly knew me, yet you trusted me enough to let me figure a way out. I might not know the ways of Sitia, but I’m an old hand at dealing with impossible situations. Think about that before you call the others.

Another long painful silence. I withdrew my connection to Irys, needing to focus my attention on tonight’s task. Kiki stopped within a mile of Blood Rock. I sensed the Sandseed’s subtle magic. The protection lacked the strength of the one that covered their camp, but it resembled a thin web, waiting to catch its prey unaware. A magician with the proper magical defense in place could avoid detection by the Sandseeds, but if the clan intensified their power, they would then sense the magician’s presence. Their magic would attack the interloper. I breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing Valek’s immunity would make him undetectable.

I slid off Kiki’s back. Stay out of sight, I told her.

Stay in wind. Keep smell strong, Kiki instructed.

I hid in the tall grass, giving Valek time to catch up. Kiki had reached this point in an hour, but it would take him an extra hour to get into position. When I felt I had waited long enough, I started walking toward Blood Rock, trusting that Valek would approach the exchange site from the opposite direction.

Rabbit, Kiki said. Good.

I smiled. She must have flushed a bunny from its burrow. The moon’s bright light shone on the long stalks of grass. A slight breeze blew and I watched as my moon’s shadow skimmed over the rippling surface.

Irys’s voice reached my mind. You’re on your own. Then her mental connection with me severed, destroying our student mentor link. My head throbbed with the sudden emptiness.