Chago was the third and last acolyte. He was a lanky young man who was freakishly fast even with his thoughts. Shyla just managed to stay ahead of him. And she had to sacrifice a couple points to probe his mind. By the end of the match, her energy lagged and Chago won four points to one. At least she’d held him off longer than he’d expected when he’d sized her up in the beginning.

Hanif consulted with the two other monks before they left. She ripped off the veil as soon as they were out of sight. The material had clung to her damp face while she fought. Then she pulled off the sweat-soaked turban. Ugh. She reeked.

“You need practice,” Hanif said.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You did better than I thought you would.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Did you…?” He tapped his forehead.

“Is that code for ‘read their souls’?”

“Shyla.”

She enjoyed annoying Hanif much more now that she was an adult. “Yes. Durva and Tobbar are legit. Chago isn’t. He’s the Water Prince’s cousin.”

“Seven hells.”

“He’s very good. And you’re going to have to decide what to do with him.”

Hanif’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean?”

“If you kick him out, then he’s going to suspect I was somehow involved. Which will no doubt bring Captain Yates back.”

Another string of curses burst from Hanif.

“How long can you delay them from taking the oath?” she asked.

“Not long—five or six sun jumps. They’ve met all the requirements.”

Too soon. “How about allowing him to become a monk and just keeping him from sensitive information?”

“That would be difficult.”

“If you prevent him from passing along information, I can erase his memories later.”

Hanif considered her offer. “How much later?”

“When we unseat the Water Prince.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Figured he wouldn’t accept a vague answer. “I don’t know. We’re still rebuilding. We have limited resources and people. It might be impossible.” She plopped onto a stool and rested her head in her hands. That was the first time she’d admitted out loud that the task of overthrowing the Water Prince and Heliacal Priestess may very well be unattainable for her and the Invisible Swords.

A warm hand rested on her shoulder. “You have a history of doing the impossible.”

She lifted her head. “I do?”

“Yes. You survived on the surface during the killing heat. You woke The Eyes of Tamburah. You convinced Captain Rendor to turn his life around. You rescued Banqui. All things I would have sworn no one could possibly do.”

“But this is different.”

He raised an eyebrow—a familiar and exasperating gesture. “Is it?”

Yes. It was. Maybe. Scorching hells, at this point she’d no idea. And Banqui was missing. Again. She sighed.

He patted her shoulder. “You’ll figure it out.”