I sit up straighter. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to kill Az. At least not until we know I have the Others under my control. Having them in his control is awful, but he still keeps them from roaming Alondria unfettered, at least until he needs them. I don’t know how long this world would survive if they were truly unleashed.”

Blaise’s gaze is still unfocused, far off.

“What if we didn’t have to kill Az?”

“You think there’s another way to wrestle control away from him? I’m not sure how to rid the Rip of those runes.”

“No, not the runes,” Blaise says, shaking her head. “When Az first took control of the Others, he accidentally let one attack Asha. I watched Marcus take the blow.”

“He’d only just then gained control. It’s been months. I’m sure he’s more practiced than he was then.”

“No, I know. But what I mean is that he was distracted. When he realized the rest of the group had caught up to us, one of the mere slipped out from underneath his control.”

“Again, he’s probably learned to control them better now, correct? Besides, if that were the case, wouldn’t he lose control of them while he slept?”

Blaise bites her lip. “I thought of that, but when I was searching grimoires for a way to rid myself of the parasite back in Mystral, I came across several magical ‘remedies’ for fighting sleep. I’m sure Az would have plenty of those at his disposal, especially with Naenden healers on his staff.”

“You think Az hasn’t slept in weeks? If that’s the case, could we steal his elixir and wait until he falls asleep and loses control over the Others?” I ask.

Blaise shakes her head. “From what I read, most of these types of elixirs—”

“Have permanent effects after chronic use,” I say, remembering Amity lecturing me about this one time. “So there’s a possibility he won’t be able to sleep again.”

“Unfortunately, yes. Although he kind of deserves it. But that’s not the point. The point is, what if he was so distracted, he couldn’t possibly focus on controlling the others?” Blaise says.

I shake my head. “From what you’ve told me about Az, control is the most important thing to him. We don’t often take our eyes off the things we hold dearest. If power is what he craves the most, there will be little that can rip his attention away. Unless you know of something he craves more than power.”

Blaise shakes her head. “No. Not something he wants more. Just a feeling that’s impossible for him to ignore.”

Her face pales.

I stand to my feet. “What are you proposing we do?”

Blaise’s hands fidget at her sides, pulling at the hem of her robes, the collar of her tunic. Sweat appears on her forehead, but when she turns and looks at me, there’s nothing but steely determination in her eyes. “I need to get a message to Asha.”

“I could reach out to some of my contacts.” My words are cautious, because something crazed has overtaken Blaise’s face.

She shakes her head. “There’s not enough time. There’s no telling when Az will attack Othian again. They’re weak right now, and he knows that. I need to get the message to her before he comes back to finish what he started.”

“Blaise, Asha’s in Meranthi. We’d have to cross the Sahli to get to her. That would mean forging passes to get across the desert, and even then, the journey takes several days, if not weeks, even with proper escorts.”

Blaise flashes me a half-hearted smile. “Then it’s a good thing I’m fast.”

My stomach hollows out.

“Blaise. You can’t…You’ll never make it.”

Blaise pats my shoulder. “Well, not with a defeatist attitude like that.”

My ribs constrict, my Gift humming in panic within my chest.

All in a minor key.

CHAPTER 85

BLAISE

Piper reaches out to a contact she has at a local inn within the town limits of Rivre.

I watch them outside, peering through the fogged window in case Piper needs me. She informed me before she went inside that the contact isn’t exactly a friend. More of a friend of Bronger’s—the man who kidnapped Piper as a child.

He’s wearing paldihv, a cloak of shadows one has to kill the previous owner in order to possess.

The sight of it seems to throw Piper off. I suppose that makes sense, given Marcus owns paldihv himself.

When Piper meets me outside, her teeth are clamped.

I frown. “What is it?”

Piper bites back a shudder. “Nothing. That male is just a pig, is all.”

When we make it back to the cave, she tells me what she learned.

The news isn’t good.

Three days.

I have three days until Az unleashes the Others on Othian in a second attack.

The fastest I’ve ever run was when I was trying to get back to Ermengarde before Abra completed the ritual that gave Farin complete control over Nox’s body.

Even then, I wasn’t fast enough.

Now I have three days to get from Rivre to Meranthi.

The distance itself would be problematic on its own. Combine that with the fact that I can only travel at night, and it’s improbable I’ll make it.

Then there’s the complication of the Sahli.

I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to running. Never really did much of it when I was human. Something tells me miles and miles of sand aren’t exactly the most conducive medium for speed.

Or endurance, now that I think of it.

I’ll never make it. Piper’s right about that, and shrugging off her concern doesn’t make it any less true.

It doesn’t have to be this way, says a voice, one that’s all too familiar, even when it shouldn’t be. Even when I never actually heard it back when it dwelled inside me. The parasite skitters inside the black adamant box I keep looped to my belt, tucked underneath my tunic, not because I want it close to my skin, but because I don’t want to have to look at it. Piper’s offered to carry it for me several times after seeing what it does to me to have it so close, but I can’t bring myself to let it out of my sight. There’s something about the feeling of the cold ancient metal against my skin that comforts me, reminds me that the parasite is still trapped, that it hasn’t found someone to let it out.

You don’t have to be a slave to the night, you know, it says again, its voice slippery against the inside of my skull.