“But the Blood Crown wants Poppy alive,” Casteel pointed out. “And they want her at this meeting. If the plan is to get her killed by waking Nyktos, why set up the meeting?”

“Good point.” Vonetta’s fingers tapped on her bent knees as she glanced between Casteel and me. “You two are seriously thinking about it, aren’t you? Waking Nyktos?”

Casteel still held my gaze. “If what Ian said is true, we may need Nyktos’s guards. Either way, Atlantia has lost the element of surprise when it comes to our armies.”

I nodded in agreement. “Are you familiar with Oak Ambler?”

A smoky smile appeared as he shared a quick glance with Kieran. “We’ve been to and infiltrated Castle Redrock.”

My brows lifted. “Do I want to know why you did that and what the outcome was?”

His gaze sharpened, burned. “Probably not.”

“Let’s just say some Ascended there won’t be missed by those who call Oak Ambler home,” Kieran commented. “It’s probably best if you don’t know more.”

“It would be wise for us to arrive before they expect us,” Casteel said, and I nodded.

“I can agree with that. I can also say for sure that your father will be pissed when he hears that the Blood Crown knows that Atlantia has been gathering forces to the north,” Jasper muttered, dragging a hand down his face as he looked at Casteel. “Hell.”

I stilled, my gaze finding Casteel’s once more. When Ian had dropped that unexpected tidbit, I couldn’t understand how they knew. Now, I did. “Alastir.”

Casteel’s jaw hardened. “From what my father said, only the Council was aware of the true purpose behind the armies being moved to the north. The public believes it’s a training exercise, but Alastir knew.”

“And he’d been communicating with the Ascended.” I shook my head. “How in the world could he have justified sharing that kind of information with the Ascended as something that would’ve benefited Atlantia?”

Jasper snorted. “I think Alastir had a lot of beliefs that didn’t make sense, but maybe he did that in hopes that Solis would strike first, forcing Atlantia’s hand. A backup plan in case all else failed.”

That made unfortunate sense. “Who knows what else he could’ve told them?”

That quieted the room, and in the silence, my mind returned to bouncing between Ian and what it meant for the Ascended before finally settling on something I hadn’t really allowed myself to think about.

The Crown.

The plans already in place wouldn’t change with the news that Ian wasn’t evil incarnate—and it was possible that other Ascended were the same. Once the King learned that Solis was aware of the Atlantian armies, it would spur an attack. Ian and any Ascended like him may die if the Atlantian armies were successful. If not, and these Revenants were something terrible and powerful, able to devastate the Atlantian armies? Not only would Spessa’s End fall, but the entire kingdom of Atlantia could. Either way, innocent people would die on both sides. I stopped as I neared Casteel’s chair. He looked up at me, his gaze searching my face.

Casteel and I could stop this.

That meant only I could stop it.

My pulse picked up as I stared down at him. I knew what we had to do—what I had to do. It felt like the floor shifted under my feet. A kernel of panic bloomed, and I used everything in me to shut it down.

Casteel reached out, extending a hand. I placed mine in it. “What?” he said quietly.

“Can we talk?”

He rose at once, sending the group a quick glance. “We’ll be back.”

No one said anything as we slipped from the room and then moved through the empty Great Hall where the Atlantian banners hung on the walls.

“Where do you want to go?” Casteel asked.

“The bay?” I suggested.

And that’s where we went, Casteel leading the way around the half stone wall that remained. Under the bright light of the moon and in the much cooler air of nighttime, the grass and dirt gave way to sand as the scent of lavender surrounded us.

We stopped on the edge of the midnight bay, the waters so dark they captured the stars above. Stygian Bay was the rumored gateway to the Temples of Eternity. I suppressed a shudder at the thought that the God of Common Men and Endings slept under the still waters.

“You doing okay?” Casteel asked.

Knowing he was talking about Ian, I nodded. “It’s strange. When I decided not to give Ian peace, I was both relieved and disappointed.”

“What made you decide not to do it?” Casteel pulled his gaze from the bay and looked over at me. “Because I really thought you were going to do it.”

“I was. It was the perfect chance. I knew you all would’ve been able to handle the knights. But besides the fact that we have no idea what these Revenants are, we’re also trying to prevent a war. If I’d ended Ian, the Blood Crown could have taken that as an act of war against them and struck at Spessa’s End. I couldn’t risk that.”