“If I was going to target her people, I’d send small units to ambush all the clusters of deacons in the city at the same time. Also, at that time, I’d lead a bigger unit to her level and fight my way in.”

“You’ve given this some thought,” Ximen said.

“The prince hated her and we brainstormed different strategies. That one had the biggest chance of success with the least amount of expected losses. I’d expect the priestess will use a very similar plan. If she strikes with surprise, speed, and intensity, it will be hard for us to counter and she’d have the advantage.”

“That means the guards throughout the city might be attacked at any time,” Gurice said. “Do we need to double them?”

Good question. If they did, that would alert the priestess. “We can assign Invisible Swords to guard the guards. They can blend in with the citizens and not tip the priestess off.”

“That’s a good idea,” Rendor said.

“And I think we should do what Rendor suggested and put together small units and attack at the same time,” Shyla said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Shyla assigned them each tasks.

Mojag hopped to his feet. “I’ll keep watch on the deacons. If they so much as twitch in our direction, I’ll let you know.”

“All right. Be careful.”

Mojag scoffed. “It was easy before, but now that I can wield magic, it’s—”

“Don’t boast,” Rendor said. “You’ll tempt the Sun Goddess to teach you a lesson.”

Shyla waited for Mojag to make a snarky comment. Instead, he nodded thoughtfully before dashing away.

Shyla lumbered to her feet. Rendor grabbed her elbow to steady her. How did the big man move so fast?

“Perhaps you should—”

“Introduce myself to the guards and staff? Good idea,” she said. Shyla wanted to ensure everyone was loyal so there wouldn’t be any traitors surprising them later.

A grumpy rumble rolled from his throat.

“When’s the last time you slept?” she asked.

No answer.

“That’s what I thought. How about we make a deal? I won’t exhaust myself if you don’t. We can meet back in your office to rest together.”

“Rest?”

“Eventually.”

He laughed.

Shyla walked around the prince’s complex, stopping everyone she encountered to say hello and to thank them. Only a small amount of her energy was needed to assess their intentions. A few remained anxious about the prince’s capture, but she sensed it was more fear of the unknown than any hostility toward her and the Invisible Swords. Two of the guards tried to hide their anger, which stirred suspicion. For them, she used extra power to dig for the reason. Both were loyal to Yates and hoped for an opportunity to rescue him. Shyla noted their names to give to Rendor.