Cade gave a final wave, then descended the stump, leaving Marius to revel in his men’s excitement. Now, the men let him through, thumping him on the back as he passed.

Finally, he stumbled to his friends, who had been joined by the others.

“What the—” Scott began.

But Cade cut him off with a finger to his lips, then motioned for them to follow him, leaving the yammering Romans behind them.

He led them to the waterfall, until they were standing close enough to feel the spray of the crashing waters. Cade sat down on a stump, clenching his fists with fury. For a moment he fumed, letting the roar of the waterfall wash around him.

“So … this is good, right?” Yoshi said.

Cade looked up at him, feeling his brows knit together.

“What?” Yoshi asked, raising his palms. “They’re gonna take all the risk, right? Go get what we need?”

“Yeah,” Amber said dully. “But it’s like sending a caveman to do brain surgery. Sure, we won’t have to do it, but it’s not exactly going to go well, is it?”

Cade chuckled despite himself. “Okay,” he said, rubbing his temples. “We know that they need the Codex, and me to work it, right? So that means at least I have to go.”

“You think we’re going to let you go alone?” Yoshi asked. “They won’t have your back like we would.”

“And we need to decide together what we spend the treasure on,” Grace said.

Cade sighed.

“We won’t get a word in edgewise until later—he’s too excited right now.”

The conversation had only just cottoned him to the fact that Marius’s actions could work in his favor. If he was alone with the Romans, he wouldn’t have to convince his friends of the need for the nuclear bomb. They were already sold on it.

“We have to talk to him,” Amber snapped.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Cade said, even as his stomach twisted with guilt. “At least one of us is going.”

CHAPTER

37

Marius would not meet with them. Not that Cade tried very hard—the man would have seen him if he insisted. But instead he asked the guards if the commander was free, knowing full well that he was busy planning the expedition.

So it was no surprise to Cade when he was summoned to Marius’s room the following morning after a fitful night of sleep. The others, despite their protests, were not allowed past the stairs.

It was a somewhat worrying precedent that Marius did not allow them to the third floor. The commander was establishing the contenders’ place in the keep’s hierarchy early. He would almost be impressed, were he not one of the ones being sidelined.

When he entered the room, Marius stood with his back to him, gazing out the window at the cobbles below. There, Cade had already seen men stacking amphorae, food, bandages, and more.

“How are the preparations going?” Cade asked, trying to begin the meeting on a peaceful note.