It was Kieran who spoke once Hisa had taken her seat on his other side. “We’re all set to leave for Oak Ambler tomorrow,” he announced. “A small group will travel with the King and Queen. It will just be Delano and me.”

Valyn inhaled deeply as he sat back in his chair. “That is not nearly enough.”

“I have to agree,” Hisa spoke up. “You will be entering Solis, meeting with the Blood Crown. It is unlikely that their armies will not have a substantial presence. Four of you is not nearly enough if something were to go wrong.”

“It’s not,” Casteel agreed. “But that is just one group.”

Hisa raised a brow. “I’m listening.”

“They will be expecting us to arrive via horse,” Kieran said. “Entering through the eastern gates of the Rise, but we don’t want to do what they expect.”

“That’s where you will come in,” I said. “You, along with Emil, Vonetta, and Lyra will leave in the morning, taking a small contingent of guards with you to arrive at the eastern gates. They have to expect that we would not come without some sort of convoy, even if they remain outside the Rise.”

Hisa nodded. “And you all?”

“We will travel by sea.” Kieran glanced at Sven. “Thanks to you, we have a ship.”

Sven smiled. “More like thanks to my son, who is currently loading several crates of wine—well, mostly wine bottles full of water and horse piss,” he said, and my lip curled. “We aren’t going to just give the Blood Crown several hundred bottles of our wine.”

Eloana placed a hand over her mouth, but not quickly enough to hide her smile.

“As most know, we monitor many of the shipments in and out of nearby ports,” Lord Sven continued. “And since Oak Ambler is the closest, we know that wine and other goods are infrequently shipped into the city. The shipment will not be questioned.”

“They won’t be expecting us from the sea.” Casteel picked up his chalice. “Not with the mist that comes off the Skotos Mountains. As far as people know, both mortal and vampry alike, the mountains continue into the sea. That is what the mist leads them to believe.”

“I can confirm that,” I noted. “We believed that the Stroud Sea ended at the Skotos.”

“That doesn’t mean the Blood Crown believes that,” Valyn pointed out. “They could’ve gotten that information from any number of Atlantians they captured over the years.”

“True.” Casteel nodded. “But I’m also sure they will have scouts on the road leading to Oak Ambler. The group traveling by land will be spotted. Lyra and Emil will travel with their identities hidden. Vonetta will be in her wolven form, and Naill will be at Emil’s side.”

“It takes, what? Four days by land to arrive at Oak Ambler?” Lady Cambria inclined her head. “How many by sea?”

“With our ships?” Sven grinned. “Faster than anything Solis will have, but you will have to go slow through the mist. So, you’re looking at roughly the same time.”