Alisa called Korgan when she was twenty minutes away from Jubaldar. The instant he picked up the call she asked, “How close are we to taking out Jubaldar?”

He was silent. “Soon. We’re now looking at early on the morning after the race, just before Reardon leaves. The drones were delivered and ready to go. We’re sending the four riders we need to move Sasha’s horses tomorrow. Vogel and his team are on the north side of Jubaldar, and by the time of the race they should be in position to take out the main castle guards on command. Novak’s designating a team from his forces to send with me when I come back to take over—” He broke off. “Something’s wrong. Why the sudden interrogation?”

“Because it’s probably not soon enough. If anything else happens, she won’t wait.” Her voice was shaking. “And she’s right, the odds are that they’ll do something terrible, because that’s who they are. I can’t take a chance. We can’t take a chance, Korgan.”

“What are you talking about, Alisa?”

“I’m talking about Sasha, whom I just left at Jubaldar after listening to her coolly tell me she was probably going to hunt down Reardon and Masenak and kill them. No, not coolly, she was sad and resigned but determined.” She was trying to keep her voice steady, but it kept breaking. “So damn determined. She said that she couldn’t wait any longer, and she wouldn’t let them keep hurting and killing. She meant it, Korgan. She’s fifteen, just fifteen, and she was talking about her gun and it might not matter if I hadn’t taught her any other way to—”

“Start at the beginning,” he said harshly. “What the hell were you doing with Sasha at Jubaldar?”

“Gilroy called me. It seems Reardon decided to beat Nightshade in front of Sasha and then when she went after him, he took his temper out on her. If you could have seen her back…”

“Why didn’t Gilroy call me?”

“Because he didn’t know what to do with Sasha afterward, and he didn’t think you would, either. He was right to call me.”

“The hell he was. Listen to you. Sasha tore you apart.”

“Yes, she did. Because she was brave and in agony and she was right. It’s gone on too long for her, and this was the crowning blow. She wasn’t even talking about what Reardon did to her. It was all about Nightshade and all the other innocents he could hurt if she didn’t do something.”

“You couldn’t talk her into waiting for us to take him down?”