“What about Ari and Janco?” I asked as we set up camp. “Were they captured at the complex?”

“No,” Teegan said.

“How did Selene find me, then?”

“She received a tip from one of the merchants.”

So much for my disguise. “We need to warn Ari and Janco not to return to town.”

“We’re pretty close to their return route. The horses will alert us when they’re close,” Valek said.

“Are we still going to rescue the Councilors?” Teegan asked.

“Yes. In fact, tonight would be ideal. The garrison commander will send extra patrols into town to search for us, which means not as many guards in the garrison.”

“Yeah, but there will be more chance of us running into all those extra patrols,” Teegan said.

“And they might find Ari and Janco instead.” I paced.

“Don’t worry, love. Those two know how to avoid patrols. But you’re right. As Janco would say, ‘There are too many rabbits in the stew.’ We’ll hang tight until everything settles down.”

Valek spread his bedroll, even though it wasn’t full dark yet. Although he tried to hide it, I recognized his fatigue. Normally so graceful and fluid, his movements jerked, as if every action required a great effort.

I sat next to him, and he draped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “What did you learn at your magic lesson today?” I asked him.

“That he can make an awesome null shield,” Teegan answered, pumping a fist in the air.

“And how to recognize them.” He smiled. “Selene was so pleased with herself, thinking she’d trapped me.”

Which reminded me. “And what did you learn from Selene?”

Teegan’s humor faded. “She confirmed that the Cartel plans to target all the magicians during the Firestorm—her words, not mine.”

“Firestorm?” Valek stared off into the distance. “Which matches our guess that the Commander plans to attack around the time of the fire festival.”

“It does. But I don’t think they intend to kill the magicians. She took great pleasure in the fact that we were going to be hit with some kind of substance.”

“Do you know what the substance does?” I asked, hoping we’d finally learn what exactly the Cartel was planning.

“No, sorry. I only had time for a brief glance into her rotten thoughts. But—” Teegan glanced at the forest.

Both Valek and I reached for weapons.

Teegan shook his head. “It’s Ari and Janco. Kiki’s leading them here.”

Sure enough, two men and four horses appeared from the forest. Dirt and mud splattered their clothing, and their stiff dismounts indicated they’d spent too much time in the saddle.

Janco pulled a leaf from his hair. “I was really looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight.”

“Look on the bright side—if we’d stayed in the tailor shop, you’d be sleeping in the garrison tonight,” I said.

He grunted. “So I gathered.”

We filled them in on Selene’s visit. Ari and Janco exchanged a glance.

“What did you discover?” Valek asked.

“That substance she mentioned is called Harman sap. And it can block a magician’s magic.”

We all stared at Janco in shock.

“Are you sure?” Valek asked.

“Unfortunately.”

“Is there a cure?” My voice was barely a whisper. Perhaps that was what had happened to me. If that was the case, at least it hadn’t affected the baby. It was no longer a theory that he or she had some form of magic.

“No one knows,” Janco said.

“You haven’t been hit with it, Yelena,” Ari said.

I clamped down on my emotions. “How do you know?”

“Selene didn’t discover the correct concentration until a season ago.”

A rush of relief swept through me. I grabbed Valek’s arm to steady my wobbly legs. However, the good feelings died when I considered that the Cartel could still target me with the sap, and perhaps block the baby’s powers, as well. And the rest of our herd was at risk, too.

“Does it wear off?” Teegan stood as if rooted to the ground.

“They don’t know.” Janco explained what had happened to the volunteers.

Valek was the first to recover. “It doesn’t change anything. We assumed the Cartel planned to target the magicians. This is...kinder, and they can still blame the Commander.”

“No wonder the Commander invited Owen in with open arms,” Ari said. “He’d jump at the chance to get rid of all the magicians.”

Janco was the only one not horrified by the prospect. “Maybe we can snag a few vials and use it on Selene, Owen and their sycophants.”

We all stared at him.

“What? If they use it on us, then we’ll be able to level the playing field. No magicians on either side.” He shrugged. “Seems fair to me.”

“Fair?” Teegan choked, truly appalled by the prospect of losing his magic forever. “It’s—”

“An issue to be discussed later,” Valek said, ending the discussion.

* * *

Two nights later, we prepared to rescue the Councilors. As the strongest of us, Ari volunteered to throw the storm orb at the wall, but Teegan thought he’d still be too close and might be killed.

“I’ve watched the Stormdancers. Those things are packed with energy,” Teegan said. “I can use my magic to deliver the orb.”