Mojag straightened and wiped his eyes. “Not much. The guards have told everyone to remain calm, which, of course, no one is. Everyone’s convinced there’s a major gas leak under the city. The focus is on the Water Prince—no one’s talking about the priestess being involved. A few of the wealthy citizens have tried to talk to the prince but were turned away by his guards.”

“His guards?” Gurice asked.

A shrug. “Probably deacons dressed in their uniforms.”

“Do you know how many?” Shyla asked.

“Twice as many as normally guard the entrance, although now I’m sure the gossip is saying there were dozens of guards. Rumors tend to grow with time. It’ll be hundreds by darkness.”

So roughly twelve instead of six guards. “What about the Invisible Swords? How many are in the city?” she asked Gurice.

“Two for each of the guard units—a total of twenty-four.”

Almost half her people. The tight bands around her chest eased a fraction. “How many wielders?”

“Twelve, except most of them are new. But the other twelve all have protective rings.”

Still, it was good news. She had forty-eight guards, and twenty-six Invisible Swords. “Mojag, can you spread rumors as well?”

He perked up. “Yeah. That’s easy. I can recruit a bunch of the vagrant kids and it’ll be all over the city within fifteen angles.”

“Good. I want them telling everyone about the Heliacal Priestess. How she killed so many people to gain power. If the citizens are looking for verification, just have them mention the destruction of the guards’ quarters.”

Gurice looked at her. “For what purpose?”

“It’s time the citizens become more proactive. There’s still plenty of deacons in the city.”

“Nice.”

“I also need you to send runners to the guard units throughout the city.”

“What should they tell them?”

“To meet me in the common lounge on level ninety at angle ninety.”

“Angle ninety so no one can escape the city?” Gurice half teased.

“No. It’s when the Sun Goddess is at her strongest.”

“I didn’t think you were the religious type.”

“I survived an explosion, wasn’t crushed into a Shyla puddle, and escaped without major injury. I’ve gotten the hint.”

Gurice laughed. “Just don’t rely on it. You’re not indestructible.”

“I’m not?” Shyla pressed a hand to her chest in mock surprise.

Another bark of laughter.

Zhek woke Shyla at angle sixty. He stood next to her sleep cushion with his arms crossed and watched as she struggled to move. Every single muscle in her body—even her fingers!—was so stiff they were close to being inflexible. Pain pulsed with every movement. She hurt. Bad. And she’d only managed to sit up. Perhaps she should have added an extra fifteen angles to their timeline.

Zhek raised his bushy white eyebrows.