Kerrigan tapped her finger to her lip as she thought about what to do. This wasn’t going to do anything. She could feel it in her bones. These people weren’t prepared for what was happening. They needed inspiration to make them stand up for what they believed in.

What had Dozan called her at the last meeting? A symbol.

Scales.

“Where are you going?” Clover cried as Kerrigan marched across the Square to the protestors.

But Kerrigan couldn’t answer because if she did, she’d second-guess herself. And she needed every ounce of reckless confidence in her system.

She drew her hood back enough for her red curls to frame her face. She looked into the eyes of the couple dozen people standing around, clouded in fear.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

The people at the front of the group gasped. Eyes widened into saucers. Whispers broke out. That answered that question.

Kerrigan held her hand up. And when they all fell silent, she put her finger to her lips. “I’m not here right now. Do you understand?”

A girl in the front nodded. “The Society can’t know?”

“That’s right. They can’t know.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Kerrigan took a deep breath, “they’re afraid of me.”

More whispers.

The girl at the front shushed them. “Listen to her.”

“We’re not here today because of me. We’re here because of you,” Kerrigan insisted. “But I did what the Society thought was impossible. I got into their sacred halls. I’m going to challenge them and help you. But first, you have to prove that my cause is valid. Let them hear your battle cry. Tell them no longer will you live in the shadow of the Fae. Only through you can I succeed. Will you fight with me today?”

This time, there were no whispers, only cheers as the crowd swelled with excitement. She’d given them what they needed—a reason, not just a cause.

She put her finger to her lips again and ducked back fully under the hood of her cloak. Excitement glittered in their eyes. They were in on the secret. They were part of something bigger. Fear was still there, but now, it mingled with purpose. And through purpose, they could all succeed.

Kerrigan went from group to group, reciting the variations of the same speech. A hundred people saw her face that day, knew who she was, and came to her battle cry. She wasn’t ready to reveal herself publicly, but this was as close as she could get. It was likely that it could reach the Society after this, but she still had plausible deniability.

When she returned to Thea and Clover, they stared at her in awe.

“Thank you,” Thea said, tears coming to her eyes. “You have no idea what this means to us.”