Unless … An idea starts to simmer in my mind. What if this is all about Avalina? What if he’s not trying to remake the council to amass power, but to punish the people who kept him from being with the woman he loved? The two paths on the broken bone in Latham’s shop were about which member was chosen to sit on the Grand Council. Could it be that Latham intends to change the past so that a different member is seated? One who wouldn’t go along with his father’s plans to keep the couple apart? Maybe he wants revenge instead of power.

Or maybe he wants both.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“I need to get back to Latham’s shop.”

The six of us are crammed into the room I share with Tessa. It’s the only place I dare say the sentence aloud, the only place where a solid door separates me from Rasmus’s watchful gaze.

“That’s going to be a lot more difficult now,” Bram says.

“I know.” I rub my forehead. A headache is building behind my eyes. “But we’ll get instructions for the third bone game any day. Who knows where we’ll be sent? If I don’t go now, I might lose my chance forever. But you’re right. Rasmus is a problem.”

Jacey slides to the floor, her back resting against my bed. “Is it just me, or is he getting more—”

“Annoying?” Niklas supplies. “It’s not just you.”

“He’s trying to protect Saskia,” Bram says. “He’s just doing his job.”

Talon raises one eyebrow. “And yet we seem to be discussing how to make him fail.”

Bram’s mouth twists into a frown. “Point taken.”

Talon’s statement makes guilt squirm in my stomach. I don’t want to deceive Rasmus. I like him.

But he’s also standing between me and finding a way to exact revenge on Latham.

Tessa sits on the bed and crosses her legs at the ankles. “So what are our options?”

“Distraction seems like the only thing that will work,” Niklas says. He turns toward me. “Maybe we can find some way to occupy Rasmus while you slip away?”

Bram and I share a look.

“Not an option,” I say.

Niklas’s chin juts forward. “But how else—”

“I was hoping Jacey could help.”

Jacey’s eyes lift to mine. “What do you mean?”

I swallow. “We could make him fall asleep. Aren’t there a number of potions that would do the trick?”

“I don’t know, Saskia. That would be harder to pull off than it sounds. You don’t think it would draw attention if he suddenly collapses where he stands?”