It hadn’t been the final decision—not by any means—but it had been a decision. In that moment, he’d chosen me. In all the moments since, he’d chosen to stand near me, to sleep beside me, to listen when I spoke. When he’d offered me the last of his food yesterday, scowling and confused, Beau had even offered to pay Célie what he owed her.

It felt too good to be true.

I held on to it for dear life.

“When we dock at port, the harbormaster will call for His Majesty’s Guard,” Jean Luc said, “who will in turn alert the Chasseurs. I’ll order an escort to the castle to request an audience with the king. He’ll grant it once he discovers who I’ve captured.”

Célie lifted her injection. “Lou and Reid will feign incapacitation whilst in the city.”

“They’ll still need to be bound.” To Beau, Jean Luc added, “As will you, Your Highness.”

“When Célie’s parents come to collect her at port, I’ll slip beneath their carriage.” Coco stared at the skyline of the city as we approached. Though still small and indistinct, it grew larger every moment. “I’ll wait with Claud and the others at Léviathan for the signal.”

Reid towered behind me, his presence warm and steady. An uncanny sort of calm overtook his features whenever we discussed strategy. Like he’d slipped into another state of consciousness, separate from the chaos and turmoil of his emotions. I chuckled quietly, hiding the sound behind my palm. The compartmentalization was strong in this one. “After they deposit us in our cells, Coco will create a distraction large enough to merit Chasseur attention,” he said. “Jean will insist our guards intervene, and he’ll take up their post temporarily.”

“I’ll magic us all out of our cells,” I continued, “including Madame Labelle. Beau and Jean Luc will slip us from the castle undetected via the tunnels.”

Jean Luc seemed agitated. “Auguste knows of the tunnels.”

“He doesn’t know them like me,” Beau said grimly. “I can get us out.”

Jean Luc’s gaze flicked to Reid and me now. His fingers kept twisting. “There will be quite a bit more between the escort you to the castle and deposit you in your cell parts of the plan. You know that, correct?”

This is going to get very ugly, very quickly.

“Yes.” Not for the first time, Estelle’s anguished face skipped through my mind’s eye. Her limp body. A boot on her cheek and a fist in her hair. Other faces quickly followed, other whispers. Viera Beauchêne escaped after they tried to burn her and her wife—acid this time instead of flame. An experiment. And— “I believe His Majesty has an affinity for rats.”

“I’ll do what I can to protect you, but . . .”