It took another two days for me to work out the specifics of the plan, and even then, it didn't feel specific enough. We only had a limited amount of time, though, and it was better to strike soon. I wanted to give Dante time to help anyone coerced into consenting to one of Calen's tattoos, but I had to balance that with striking before Calen attacked the Sylvan Court...

... Or did I?

My current plan was something along the lines of a massive mutiny, but I really couldn't figure out the logistics or the timing, and if it slipped to the wrong people, we'd be in massive trouble. It was high risk, and not in a way that looked like it might pay off. We'd be isolated without backup, and from this location, Calen's scouts could spot anyone trying to come to our aid from miles away.

However, as I made my way to one of the upper floors of the building, I started to wonder if there was a better plan already in place. Maybe there was something that wouldn't only work, but that Calen would happily walk himself into.

I'd managed to subtly work out a time to meet Dante in the same secluded closet I'd met him in before. It was difficult, considering that Calen kept me under close watch, but since I'd developed a reputation for yelling at him and storming off on a "walk," I managed to get away with it. He'd stopped sending security to follow me on my walks about two days after I arrived in the first place.

Essentially, Calen let me roam because he didn't think I'd try to escape. That worked out well enough that I could sneak upstairs without drawing attention, make my way to the closet, and slip inside to see a glamoured Dante waiting on me.

He sighed with relief and dropped the illusion as soon as I closed the door. I wished there was a better way to lock it than a flimsy chair under the handle, but it was all we had.

"I'm not cut out for spy work," Dante said, pulling me into a hug. "I'm tense all the time, I'm always afraid I look suspicious, and I have no idea how anyone manages to get sleep during undercover assignments."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, biting back a laugh as I kissed his cheek. "The good news is, I think you'll be able to sleep soon."

Dante perked up at that. "Really? You've thought of something already?"

"I've got an idea, yeah," I whispered. "You're not gonna like it, though."

To be completely honest, even I didn't like it. However, out of all the plans that I'd come up with, this was the best one so far. The longer I thought about it, the more convinced I was that this was the option we needed to go with. The problem was that it was... significantly riskier than anything else I'd considered.

"Dare I ask?" Dante winced, pulling back a little.

"I think we need to let him go through with the plan to attack the Sylvan Court," I said.

"What?" he hissed. "Tell me you have a good reason, please."

"We have the best chance to catch him by surprise if you get a message out to the Council now, a few days ahead. He won't be able to rewind on a dime and suss out the spy in time," I said, mostly thinking out loud. "He already said that he won't go back more than five days right now."

"Won't or can't?"

"Can't," I confirmed. "Well, I think that's what he means, but he doesn't want to admit that his magic has gone to shit since I cut our Thread."

"Well, that's good at least," he muttered.

"If we play this right, we can back him into a corner, free those people, and challenge him on familiar turf."

"Do we even know where he's going to break through the Veil?"

"Not sure, but I can find out," I said. "Get him annoyed enough, and he'll tell you anything you want to know."

It was true. Playing off Calen's ego and overconfidence was, perhaps, the one move that had worked in my favor this entire time. I knew more than he wanted me to know solely from making him so annoyed that he started trying to mansplain to me. Plans for the upcoming raid on the Sylvan Court were no exception, though I still wanted to know more before the day.

I had to be careful, though. If I asked too many questions, he'd get suspicious. Calen was cocky, not completely stupid, and it was a small miracle he hadn't caught onto the few rebellious cult members coerced into letting themselves be tattooed. Some had given up, of course, but there was certainly a larger rebellious presence than I'd thought.

At least, according to the woman who approached me at dinner the night I poisoned Calen.

"Did you find Elise?" I asked nervously. In theory, Dante should have been able to locate her without a problem, but I needed to stay as far away from his process as I could. Calen watched me too closely, and any false move could trigger alarm bells.

"I did. She's a good soul," Dante said, nodding gravely.

"How's the...?" I gestured vaguely to my forearm. It still turned my stomach to think about.

"We've gotten through about ten people so far," Dante explained, catching my drift. "It's slow work, though."

"Then we need healers posted with the ambush at the Veil," I said, nodding. "And you need to go back to Court."

"I'm not leaving you," he insisted, brow furrowing.

"Dante." I grabbed his hand, squeezing gently.

"I won't leave you here alone," he repeated, pulling me into a tight hug.

"You won't be. I'll have Elise, I'll have the people staying here to help me, and you know Calen won't hurt me. We need you at the Veil to help everyone prepare."

"Then come with me," Dante said, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Please. You'll be safe, Calen will go forward with the plan, we can do everything from there."

"He won't go forward with the plan if he knows I'm gone. I know too much," I insisted. "I need to stay so he thinks everything is going as expected."

Dante didn't like it. That was easy enough to tell from the scowl on his face, but he didn't let me go. Instead, he pulled me close and kissed me, sighing.

"I love you," he whispered. "And I hate that you're right."

I didn't like it either, for the record. I didn't like that it felt like abandoning him to escape on his own, and I didn't like that I wouldn't know for sure if he made it back until it was almost too late. It was the best option, though, and we both knew it.

"I love you, too. Now... go, please. Get back to Court, and be safe about it."

I hugged him tightly one more time, unwilling to let him go yet... but I had to. He'd given me hope, and that would just have to be enough for the next few days.

After Dante left, glamour back in place, I waited a few more minutes just to be sure that no one would see us together. He should, theoretically, be leaving at any moment to go back through the Veil, but I couldn't risk compromising him at the last minute. I leaned against the wall of the closet, arms crossed and guilt roiling in my stomach.

I only half-lied to him, but I felt it in my gut like a stab wound. I didn't want to worry Dante any more than necessary, but keeping Calen calm was just part of the reason I needed to stay behind. In reality, I needed a few days to keep working on the second part of my plan.

Calen was connected to my past selves through his Threads, but he didn't seem to notice when I cut them. As long as I focused on smaller, weaker Threads, he couldn't tell when I cut them. Working slowly and carefully, I detached Calen from every bit of my past that I could reach. I wasn't sure it would be enough to sever our attachment entirely, but at least it was a start.

And, over the last two days, I'd noticed that he was struggling with his magic.

He wouldn't admit it, of course. He was too proud for that. When you had nothing to do but sit around and observe, though, you had time to analyze someone's ticks and tells. Calen liked to use his time magic to show off, leading to frequent bouts of déjà vu around the community, but... not so much over the last forty-eight hours.

They were small things, mostly- a spilled drink here, a minor incident there. Calen could have easily fixed them with his time magic, and according to some of his favorite minions, he often did. It was a reminder to everyone of the power at his fingertips. Lately, though, he'd just glared at the mess and ordered someone to clean it up, much to the general confusion of a few people in any given room.

It was enough for me to understand that his magic was on the fritz. Whatever I was doing, it was helping. Cutting him off from the source of his power was doing something, even if I hadn't pinpointed exactly what. I just had to wait for the right moment to finish the job.

I made a mental list of things to do in the next few days.

First, and most importantly, I needed to inform Elise of the plans. She'd requested not to be notified early, but she was also Dante's first volunteer for a tattoo removal. We didn't have to worry about anyone magically forcing her to reveal information, so she could help us coordinate.

Second, I needed to keep snipping away at Calen's Threads. The weaker he was, the better chances we had. Calen's few, fiercely loyal lackeys were strong, but the time magic was his trump card. If I rendered it nearly useless, we'd be at enough of an advantage that I could finish the job at the Veil.

I tried very hard not to think about that. The idea of murder still made me feel sick, but at the very least, it was more merciful than the volcano option...

Which I was also trying not to think about.

Finally, I needed to figure out a way to let Dante and the others know the location of Calen's planned Veil break. The Sylvan army needed to set up ahead of time for an ambush if this plan was going to work.

I prayed it worked. If it didn't, I wasn't sure what we were going to do.