The route from the wharf to the prison was the both new and familiar and she traveled as swiftly as her body allowed. Inside the prison, the air was cool and stale, and the sounds of hundreds of people in the earliest stages of their withdrawal drifted through the building as though the walls themselves groaned. Gloriana admitted Caledonia through multiple layers of locked doors with a weary smile. She’d taken a gunshot to the shoulder during their assault on the towers and her left arm was tightly bound to her chest.

“Checking up on us?” Gloriana asked as two of her staff entered the room with arms full of folded sheets. Their eyes widened at the sight of Caledonia, but at her nod of acknowledgment, they returned to their work.

“I’m here for my bro—I’m here for Donnally,” Caledonia answered. “I’m taking him with me.”

“Right.” Nodding, Gloriana pulled a key from one of many pockets lining her vest. “This way.”

Gloriana led her deeper into the prison, where they passed through three more locked doors before entering a long room lined with cells on either side. Donnally stood inside one with arms locked across his chest. His chin tipped downward so his curls cast shadows over his dark eyes.

“Brother.” She was prepared this time for the quiet tightening of his mouth at the term. Apart from that, he remained still.

Gloriana took a small step back, giving them as much privacy as she could as the shouts of Bullets echoed down the hall.

“Caledonia.” His voice was tired.

“Would you like to come with me?” she asked.

“Do I really have a choice?” he fired back. “What I would like to do is return to Lir. If you’re asking.”

“Lir is in the wind.” She said it before she could stop herself.

A soft laugh fell from Donnally’s lips. When he turned his face to hers, the skin around his eyes tightened as though something had suddenly pained him. He said, “You know better than that. Lir is never in the wind. He has a plan, you just haven’t seen it yet.”

Caledonia swallowed. She might be able to predict Lir’s motives, but Donnally knew them.

“Let him out,” she said.

It only took a second for Gloriana to unlock the door, but it seemed to take an eternity for Donnally to walk through.

“I’m not a prisoner?” he asked.

He should be. She should hold him until this was all over. But of all the things Caledonia was capable of, holding her own brother captive wasn’t one of them.

“Come with me,” she said.