Loki knew the palace best, so he drove our SUV and led the rest of the Tryle. We had a caravan of Cadilacs that we drove to the Vittra palace. When we got near the palace, he cut the headlights, and the cars behind us did the same. He parked at the bottom of the hil, as close to the palace as he felt comfortable.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Loki asked me quietly after we got out of the car.

“Yes,” I said. “Are you?”

“Not as much as I’d like,” he admitted.

“Just get me to Oren.”

I looked back behind me, at al the other Tryle getting out of their cars. Finn was already directing a few of them up the hil, teling them how to get inside. Loki had gone over detailed maps with the team leaders before we left, but we hadn’t enough time to show al the Tryle.

“Everybody knows what to do?” I asked and looked over at Wila, Tove, and Duncan.

“Yeah, we’l be okay.” Wila reached out and squeezed my arm. “Just stay safe.”

“We got it,” Duncan said, flashing a nervous smile.

“Don’t be a hero,” I told him sternly. “Protect yourself.”

“Take care of her,” Tove said to Loki.

“I’l do my best,” Loki said.

Most everyone else had started up the hil, so we had to split up. Loki and I were going in an entrance on the far side of the palace, away from them. We were going a different route, sneaking around the hobgoblins, so I could face the King.

We went through the trees, slipping through snow and branches cracking under our feet. On the far side of the palace, Loki led me to a smal wooden door almost completely buried under vines. The vines looked brown and dead, but they were covered with sharp thorns that cut at Loki’s hand when he pushed them back.

He opened the door, then slid inside, and I folowed. We stepped into a narrow, dimly lit hal. The floors were covered with red velvet carpets, and it helped silence our footsteps. As he led me through the back hals of the palace, I heard banging and yeling from far away. The fighting had started.

I jumped when something slammed into the wal right next us, leaving a large crack in the wood.

“What’s on the other side of that wal?” I asked, pointing to the crack.

“The front hal.” Loki took my hand and looked at me. “If you want to do this, we need to hurry. He’s going to hear this.” I nodded, and we walked faster. The back halways turned and twisted a few times before we came across a very constricted stairway. I almost had to turn sideways to climb up, the steps themselves were so thin, I had to stand on my tiptoes.