“Oh, my!” I clutched my bulging stomach.

“Is it the baby, dear?” the lady asked, her voice shrill with alarm.

“It’s just a cramp—oooohhh! I’d better...” I waddled down the stairs. “Ducks, come on, we’re—aaaahhh!”

The kids joined me in the middle of the lobby, which had grown quiet. Everyone stared at the pregnant lady making noises. Good. I took a few steps toward the exit. “We need to get ho—oooohhh, no!” I gasped, stopping and bending over as if in extreme pain. “The baby is coming!” Squeezing my stomach, I ruptured the seal on the water skin that was hidden under my tunic. Except it wasn’t water that splashed onto the floor.

The people closest to me jumped back, but the guards at the door stepped forward to render aid. However, it was the guards streaming up from the cells under the building that scared me.

“Now!” I covered my nose and mouth with a cloth just as my ducklings threw small glass spheres onto the liquid. They shattered on impact.

An angry fog hissed and spread. My kids swarmed out of the way of its gray tentacles, making a beeline for the exit. Breathing shallowly through the fabric, I remained in place as the people around me stumbled to the ground. Then I, too, bolted for the door.

Outside, the kids had already disappeared. Kiki waited at the bottom of the steps. I mounted, and she took off for the Citadel’s gate, weaving through the government quarter. Once we were safe, she slowed so I could remove the deflated water skin and allow the others to catch up.

Time for part two. We rendezvoused with Onyx and the guild members a couple blocks away from the gate. Valek’s horse was saddled and ready.

“Is everyone here?” I asked. We would leave no one behind.

“Yeah, except for Master Fisk,” Phelan said with a worried frown.

“He’s not on horseback,” I said. “Fisk and Onora should be here soon.” Along with Valek, unless he was unable to ditch his pursuers.

Kiki pricked her ears back and turned. Onora and Fisk raced into view. She waved us on. “Go, go! The guards are right behind us.”

Damn. I hesitated. Valek hadn’t appeared. Where was he? I glanced at the kids and at Fisk’s pale face. We couldn’t wait.

“Fisk, mount Onyx. You take Valek’s role.”

Onora helped him into the saddle.

“All right, let’s go,” I ordered. The words sizzled on my tongue and seared down my throat.

The kids raced ahead of us. Just before we turned the last corner and would be in full view of the gate’s guards, we all paused. I hooked my right foot through the stirrup and swung my left leg over. I dropped the reins so they dragged on the ground and shifted until I clung to the side of the saddle, as if I was about to fall.

I signaled. Showtime. The guild members ran straight at the armed soldiers, screaming about a runaway horse just before Kiki burst into view. Onyx followed close behind, with Fisk bravely trying to grab Kiki’s reins and save the damsel in distress. I played my part by screaming for help and carrying on.

There were only a few guards at the gate. Valek had successfully drawn off the extras who had been stationed there. Did they catch him?

The men and women dove to the side when it became obvious they would be trampled by the horses if they didn’t. I tightened my hold and braced as Kiki broke through the gate in one powerful stride. A loud crack split the air, and splinters flew in all directions. Pinpricks of pain peppered my hands and face. I glanced back. Onyx and the kids poured from the Citadel like water breaking through a mud dam. The plan was to scatter once we were free and meet up later. Kiki slowed, and I pulled myself back into the saddle.

While elated that we’d rescued Fisk and the guild members, my heart burned for Valek. I tried not to get too upset. He might still be free but unable to leave the Citadel. Once I rendezvoused with Fisk and the others, I could wait for when Cahil and his group left to escort Zitora. He would have information on Valek’s whereabouts. Or Valek might even be hidden in his posse. A girl could hope.

The trip to Bavol’s farmhouse seemed to take an eternity. Since it was close to the plains, it would be an ideal hideout for a couple of days. Fisk and his people would need to move on in case Valek had been captured. The bitter taste of ashes coated my mouth at the thought.

It was dark by the time we reached the farm. Fisk and Onyx had beaten us there. Since the kids were on foot, it would take them longer to arrive. In the meantime, I lit one of the stable’s lanterns and tended to Kiki’s injuries. Cuts crisscrossed her chest, and thick wooden splinters protruded from her neck and legs. Blood ran down her front legs. Poor girl.

I rubbed a little of the watered-down medical Curare into her wounds first. Finding a pair of tweezers, I carefully tugged the pieces free from the cuts. Fisk groomed and settled Onyx before he joined me.

Limping slightly, he leaned against a beam. Lines of exhaustion etched his young face. Purple bruises stained his skin. His defeated posture said more than his haunted gaze.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”

“It is. I should have—”

“Stop right there. Should haves are a complete waste of time and energy. They can’t change the past. It happened. You learned a lesson. Now you know what not to do. That’s what you focus on for the future.”

He didn’t reply. After a while, I glanced at him. He rubbed his arm but stared into the night as if deep in thought.