“By morning, they’ll have her well away,” Sothe said. She glanced at Marcus. “I’m going to get her. By myself, if I have to.”

“How?” Winter said. “The Patriots have turned Farus’ Triumph into a killing ground, and the surrounding streets are barricaded.”

“I’ll find a way through,” Sothe said, but there was something about her tone that sounded less than confident.

“Even if you do,” Andy said, “those Penitent Damned are probably in there, right? The monster who tried to kill Marcus, and the one you fought.”

“And Ionkovo,” Marcus said. “She’s right. You won’t have a chance against them alone.” He looked up at Winter. “Is there any chance you could sneak a force through? Just enough to get into the hotel and out again. Maybe by the river—”

Winter shook her head. “They’ve got spotters on the shore.” They’d sent small boats out earlier, hoping to find a spot to land a company and outflank the barricades, only to draw fire from the rooftops.

“After dark,” Sothe said, “a small group might be able to sneak across the Triumph.”

“They’d have to be fools not to put lanterns up—”

“I know a way in,” Cyte said.

Everyone paused and looked at her, and she shrank a little, then took a deep breath.

“There’s a tunnel,” she said. “Under the Triumph. It runs from the south side to the north side, right under the fountain. It’s just about big enough for one person at a time. They use it to do maintenance on the pipes. It comes up by the back wall of the Ancerre.”

Sothe frowned. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Not many have. The contract for maintaining the fountain has been with the same firm for the last fifty years, and they’re pretty closemouthed about it.”

“So how do you know?” Andy said.

“The Wastrel Prince, the second son of Farus the Fifth, used to use it to sneak his mistresses into the Ancerre and past his father’s guards.” Cyte’s cheeks colored a little. “I wrote a paper about it, back at the University.”

“Is it still there?” Marcus said. “That was decades ago.”

“The entrance is, anyway,” Cyte said. “I went and found it. It’s locked, but it wouldn’t be hard to break open.”

Marcus caught Winter’s eye, and she nodded slowly.

“It’s worth a shot,” she said. “I’ll put together a team from the Girls’ Own.”

Sothe straightened up and squared her shoulders. “I’ll get ready, then.”

“Me, too.” Andy hopped down from the desk and stretched.

“You don’t have to go—” Marcus began.