Shira walked with more confidence after she’d rested and had more water. Tristan didn’t have to support her weight anymore, but he still kept an eye on her. Just in case she suddenly collapsed from the heat. Dehydration tended to sneak up on a person and the damage was severe—sometimes permanent. He wondered how many of the girls in Rājadhānī were constantly on the brink of collapse. From the looks of it, most of them.

“I really should go back to work,” Shira insisted for the fourth time. “Maibe’s anger is… terrifying.”

“If you go back now, you’ll end up back in the sand,” Zahra insisted. “Or the wall.”

Shira shuddered. “How can I show my face tomorrow?”

“What if I go with you tomorrow? I can at least talk to Maibe about your condition.” Tristan shaded his eyes and peered around at the other hovels. The majority were empty, and the ones that weren’t had catgirls who were clearly too young or sick to work. “But I don’t think she’ll hurt you. The Ejderha need all the able-bodied workers they can get, lest they want to build the gate themselves.”

“It would be better if I went by myself anyway. I don’t want to look as weak as I feel,” Shira murmured. Her eyes widened as she scanned the neighborhood. She pointed and gasped. “They’re coming from my house. Meera!”

Tristan followed her hand, spotting Matt and his Party dropping the curtain over the doorway of a bedraggled dwelling built from chipped stone and bubble-riddled grout. “Shira, wait!”

“Where’s Meera? Is she all right?” Shira confronted Matt, then snatched the curtain back from the entrance. “Meera!”

“Mommy! You’re home early!” A young catgirl with green eyes like her mother’s bounded forward. She balanced a thick iron cage over half her height between two arms. Inside was a shimmering beetle the size of a dinner plate. “Glitter ran away, so I went to the Guild Hall and put in a request to find him. You said it was for emergencies, and this was definitely an emergency!”

“You went by yourself?” Shira knelt and took the cage from her daughter.

“Uh-huh. I’m practically full-grown.” Meera rolled her eyes, then pointed at Matt. “That nice man and his friends found Glitter. And they let me keep my water ration!”

A dozen emotions passed over Shira’s face, and she fretted at her lower lip. Glitter, apparently the beetle in question, buzzed about his cage in a frenzy. “We need to talk about this, Meera. I’m glad you and Glitter are safe.” She glanced at Matt over her shoulder. “Thank you for helping her.”

Matt shrugged and flashed her a disarming half-smile. “Glad to help.”

“Maybe we should let them be for now. We can talk somewhere else,” Keke suggested.

“Yeah. Let’s compare notes on the city.” Tristan nodded.

 “There’s a place right up the road. I’ll show you,” Jaya suggested.

Tristan waved to Shira. “If you need anything at all, just let us know. Okay?”

Shira nodded. “May Saoirse walk with you all.”

“And let her guide your steps,” Cannoli, Zahra, Jaya, and Ravyn replied in unison. Ravyn’s response seemed to surprise Matt as much as it did Tristan.

“Didn’t take you for a religious type,” Matt said when they were outside.

“Kuso. Blame my mom,” came her curt response. It was a clear sign to drop the conversation, so they did.

“I wonder if a lot of girls keep bascars as pets?” Cannoli mused. “Or maybe it’s kind of like Buttons.”

The blazard appeared on her shoulder, staring up at Cannoli expectantly.

Wow. He’s learned his name. Encroachers are more intelligent than we give them credit for.

“Glitter did not seem very… companionable. Perhaps a bit one-sided?” Ceres asked.

“He was calm whenever Meera was around. Maybe he just didn’t like other people.” Keke shrugged.

“Sounds like you’ve had an eventful afternoon,” Tristan said with a laugh.

“Yeah. That damn bug’s had my ears ringing since we found him.” Matt cupped his hands over his ears and shook his head. “I didn’t think the wings were that loud.”

That’s not good. “It may not have been the bug. How’s your head feeling?”

Matt blinked. “Dizzy, but aren’t we all?”

“How much water have you had today?” Tristan asked. His question turned Keke, Cannoli, and Ceres’ attention to Matt as well.

“Well, I mean, my canteen’s empty,” Matt admitted. “I didn’t want to bother anyone—”

“Baka! You’re severely dehydrated!” Ravyn snapped. She and the rest of Matt’s Party snatched their canteens from their [Cat Pack]s and forced them forward. “Pick one. Any one.”

“But you guys need water, too!” he argued.

“Take one, Matt. It only gets worse if you don’t,” Keke pushed.

Matt sighed and accepted her offer. “Fine. Just a sip.”

“You have loyal followers in your Parties,” Zahra noted quietly. “No woman here would offer their ration to Magni. Not for all the Bells in the world.”

Tristan grimaced. “Let’s hope he sees reason.”

She chuckled beneath her breath. “All hopes are dead in the Third Shell.”

---

“They bury the girls in the walls?” Matt asked, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“That’s so awful,” Cannoli squeaked.

“Earth doesn’t like it, either,” Lara murmured.

They’d pushed all the chairs together at the Zango, and still, two of them were left standing while two more leaned against the bar. Haleli wasn’t exactly happy to see Tristan again, now with Matt and his Party, but a few choice words from Jaya kept her quiet.

“I’m surprised they’re building a Fourth Shell,” Keke noted. “Unless Magni increased rations, there’s not enough to go around.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Tristan agreed. “If anything, I believe they’d start using the water from the oasis for additional rations.”

“Why are they not utilizing that at this time?” Ceres asked.

“A question for Magni, it seems,” Destiny grumbled.

“What if we took charge of the oasis? Kick the Ejderha out?” Matt asked.

“I thought of that, too. However, it sounds like there’s plenty of water on the inside shells to sustain everyone. Right now the oasis is more like an Ejderha playground. It wouldn’t be much of a loss,” Tristan explained.

“Oh, yes. Water adores the First and Second Shell. She runs wide and deep,” Lara said dreamily.

“That’s what she said,” Ravyn coughed behind her hand. 

“Ravyn!” Cannoli pinched her arm.

Tristan cleared his throat. “Anyway. What was your idea behind picking up Quests, Matt?”

Matt rubbed the back of his neck. A motion that Tristan noticed that Matt gravitated toward when he was nervous or unsure about something. “I kind of thought that the more girls we can get on our side, the better. They’re not happy, and they obviously don’t trust Magni. So, maybe, if they see what the opposite looks like, we can spark a kind of rebellion.”

“The girls here cannot fight the Ejderha. We’ve seen as much,” Zahra countered.

“Not with weapons, no. But stirring unrest could force Magni to have to confront it,” Tristan said. “It’s not a bad plan.”

Matt’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled. “Thanks.”

“What if we just wait for Sanrai or… the girl Tristan mentioned—Maibe? Why not wait for them to tell Magni?” Cannoli asked.

Tristan shook his head. “I don’t believe they’ll tell him. Judging what we’ve seen so far, the Ejderha are meant to keep the status quo. Admitting that we’re here and causing a scene will not look good on them.”

“You could cut the arrogance at play with a knife,” Zahra murmured.

“We need something faster. I doubt Sanrai’s Circus is about to hand out water to outsiders.” Ravyn scowled. “And if they guard the damn oasis, our options for water are limited.”

Tristan nodded. “Agreed. Which is why I have an idea.”

“Oh?” Cannoli held Buttons close to her chest. “What did you find out?”

“We learned of a hunting Party from the First and Second Shells…” He detailed what Shira had revealed about the morning hunts. “What I’m thinking will break a lot of rules.”

Ravyn grinned, her smile glittering in the limited candlelight. “That’s my kind of plan.”

“If it’s a limited amount of girls able to hunt and they can’t return to the inner shells, that should cause a huge problem,” Tristan explained slowly.

“Can’t return? We’re not killing them, right?” Keke asked, her face blanching.

“No. Just…” Tristan swallowed hard, finding the words hard to say. “Taking them hostage.”

Cannoli squeaked.

“That is quite a rule to break,” Ceres noted.

“We wouldn’t be harming them. No one would get hurt. We’d release them in exchange for a meeting with Magni. That’s all,” Tristan added quickly.

“Will that really work?” Jaya took a swig from her glass and stared thoughtfully at its contents. “Those hunting Parties could have a lot of girls. And if he sends the Ejderha to wipe you out—”

“I don’t think Magni would kill two men,” Tristan said quickly.

“No. Maybe not. But I don’t think he’d have any problem killing the girls in your Party,” Jaya continued.

Destiny and Lara shifted uncomfortably in their seats. 

“I’d like to see him fucking try,” Ravyn growled.

“Zahra, Jaya, do you know how many Ejderha there are?” Tristan asked.

“Beats me. They seem to swarm like insects,” Jaya admitted.

“That’s how it’s meant to feel,” Zahra agreed. “I believe there are fifteen.”

“Then we could take the hunting party to the oasis. They can’t have every Ejderha there at once.” Working through the numbers, he guessed, at most, there would be three at the oasis. Magni would likely have one or two always at his side, another two to oversee the gate building, then two at each inner gate. That left three or four for patrolling each of the Shells and issuing commands. “It’ll give us a hub with fresh water while we send one of the hunters back to fetch Magni.”

“That’s still a hell of a gamble,” Jaya said.

“Not as much if you think about it. You saw how Kathy and Seraphina felt about their guard duties. Sending all twelve of his loyal warriors to a place an hour away would leave the city vulnerable to more ‘assassins’ slipping in,” Keke said.

“Exactly!” Tristan replied. “Still, if everyone here thinks it’s too dangerous, the last thing I want to do is put your lives on the line for a plan you don’t agree with.”

Destiny’s tongue poked against the inside of her cheek. She studied Tristan’s face, then slowly nodded. “I knew the dangers when I joined your Party. If you believe this is the best way through, then I’ll continue to support you.”

“I, too, will do what I can to appease the Elements,” Lara said. “Speaking of. Excuse me, miss?” She waved over Tristan to catch Haleli’s attention. “Fire would like another candle, please.”

“Fire can tug my damn tail,” Haleli shot back.

“I don’t think you should say that…” Lara murmured.

Cannoli placed a hand on her shoulder with a consoling smile, then turned to Matt. “Matt? What do you think of Tristan’s plan?”

“I’m in if you guys are,” Matt replied easily.

The girls in his Party nodded, and all eyes turned to Tristan.

His heart hammered against his chest. This was crazier than anything he’d ever done. But, if it forced the king from his castle, it would be worth it. “Well, then. Let’s get planning.”