“Maiden Gray! It’s me—Han Alister,” he said, as she scouted the room for other weapons. Dog looked from Han to Magret as if not sure which side to take.

“I know who you are—or at least who you used to be,” Magret growled. “Fine time for you to show up as a shade, after betraying my lady and breaking her heart.”

Han gripped both her hands to keep her from arming herself again. “I’m not a ghost,” he said. “What gave you the idea that—”

“Take your hot hands off me, you unholy fiend,” Magret said. Sucking in a breath, she looked down at his hands. “You do feel like flesh and blood,” she allowed. “But you must have walked through walls to get in here.”

Han shook his head. “There’s actually a tunnel that leads to—”

“The tunnel!” Magret pulled free of Han’s hands, looking greatly offended. “You’re not supposed to know about that!”

“You know about the tunnel?” Han said, startled.

“That’s how Her Majesty escaped that lowlife Bayar the last t—” Magret’s eyes narrowed as she peered over Han’s shoulder into the bedchamber beyond. “Blood and bones! What’s he doing here?”

Han looked around to see Micah and the others emerging into the bedroom. “Where are Queen Raisa and the Princess Mellony?” he said, finding his tongue. “I need to speak with them.”

Magret shook her head, distracted by Han’s companions. “The Princess Mellony’s been missing two days, and now I cannot find the queen, either. Her fighting staff is gone. I thought maybe she was down at the practice yard with Captain Byrne. Lady Tyburn’s gone, too.”

“Do you think they’re together somewhere?” Han asked.

Magret fingered the Gray Wolf tattoo on her arm. “I wish I knew.” She paused, then added, hopefully, “Maybe they’ve found a way out of the city.”

“What about Nightwalker?” Bird asked, frowning. “Where is he?”

“I don’t keep track of that one,” Magret said. “But, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him all day.” Squaring her shoulders, she said, “What’s this about?”

“Maiden Gray,” Han said. “The Demonai have joined with the Wizard Council to break the siege. They are outside the perimeter, waiting for the go-ahead.”

“Copperheads and jinxflingers, together?” Magret shook her head. “Whatever kind of sorcery you have, Alister, it’s powerful.”

“We’ll see,” Han said, not wanting to tempt the Breaker with overconfidence. “I need to find the queen before we give the signal for attack, so she knows what’s going on and we can make sure she’s out of harm’s way.” He looked up at the windows, judging the time. “We can’t wait too much longer or it’ll get light. Who’s in charge of the castle defense?”