If looks could kill and I had a different blessing, I would have been dead twice over after I declared my idea. Once by Ambervale and once by Morwen. Ambervale looked like she thought I was a complete and utter moron with a death wish while Morwen just looked affronted. It was the most emotion I had seen the Beastwatcher second show in the short time I’d know her. Frankly, I was a bit surprised since she seemed to hold herself separate from the other whisper women, but I kept my own expression unapologetic and determined.

Morwen shook her head. “Don’t you think we already tried that?”

Ambervale broke in, “Using the tactics she knows best will just get us killed. She’ll know what to expect and we don’t have the numbers to swarm hers.”

Esie held up a staying hand. “Why don’t you tell us what you mean in more detail, Gimley?”

So I did.

I told them all about my ideas to pick off the fish and instill fear. I mentioned how we could use misdirection and hit and run tactics to strike where the fish thought they were the safest. I went into detail about targeting the chain of command since the fish seemed to have one if we referred to some of them as conch commanders. I covered examples of blessings that could be helpful and how we might use the terrain to make more dedicated killing fields even without delving into the sea.

“It’s suicide.” That was Ambervale. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the effort she had placed into becoming an expert on the Lady Blue, but she placed a lot of faith in the demigoddess’s capabilities over our own, especially when it came to doing anything in the water.

“It’s necessary.” I stared the whisper woman down. “We can’t win a defensive battle, not when the Lady Blue has endless fish to throw at us. If things stay as they are, even if we hold the delta this year, they will eventually grind us down until we can no longer resist. The only time we got them to run was when my patron sliced into their depths. We need to change the playing field rather than playing by the existing rules.”

Ambervale dug into her stance. “The Lady Blue and her fish control the sea—sending anyone under the waves is suicide. We can’t keep up with their strength and speed in the water much less even reach any significant depth before we need to draw breath.”

“The sea is vast, just like our shores. It’s near impossible to watch every inch of it at all times, especially if we draw attention elsewhere. Nor do we have to commit everything to going below the surface. We can strike from above. Perhaps the storm birds would like to return to their old hunting grounds?”

“That’s not—”

“Enough.” Esie cut off Ambervale’s objection. “It’s true that our standard tactics are starting to fail us. The Lady Blue’s forces swelled to unprecedented amounts during their time in hiding while ours haven’t. We are no longer as evenly matched as we once were. We can explore to see if any of Gimley’s ideas are feasible, but in the meantime we still need to deal with the current predicament in the delta. I will bring our information to my patron so that she can present it to the sect heads. If everything goes well, we should be answering the Tribe Master’s call within the week.”

Juniper puffed out her chest. “I’m ready to go now.”

Esie smiled gently at her. “I’m sure you are, but there are other preparations that need to be made even if they decide to wake the Water Frond Snake.”

Juniper wasn’t happy with that rejection. “We should go now. The longer we wait the the higher the toll will be on the tribe.”

“Do you not trust your birth tribe?” Hattie tilted her head to the side, looking genuinely confused, though I was sure it was some sort of trick. The boisterous squad leader wasn’t one to let confusion weigh her down.

“Of course I do!” snapped Juniper.

Hattie grinned back at her. “Then trust them now.”

Juniper opened her mouth to protest before slowly shutting it again and clenching her jaw. I also wanted to protest, but for different reasons than her. I didn’t want to be pulled from our training so soon for something unrelated, nor did I like the charades we were going through when I knew that the High Priestess already knew about the situation. Likely the only thing we needed was her decision on whether she’d freeze the coastline or not, but Esie was keeping the secret and I didn’t want to get on the High Priestess’s bad side.

People might be fighting and dying, Juniper and I weren’t the ones who got to make the final call on when or how we entered the fight. It grated. If I was going to be involved, then I wished I could have dictated more of the terms.

The meeting broke up.

Juniper left the high platform as soon as she could. The others also filtered out quickly, returning back to their other duties and responsibilities. The fight in the delta might be important, but there was little anyone could do until an official decision was reached.

There was, however, one thing I could do that I had been putting off. I sent a whisper on the wind to Ingrasia. To my surprise, it worked on the first try. I let my concentration drop on the mental shield I constantly kept up to stop whisper women from using the shadows to track me and use me as an anchor point for their shadow paths like I had when the Envoy kidnapped Juniper. Both the mental block and the anchor point skill didn’t seem to be ones that most whisper women focused on, but I appreciated their utility. Mishtaw had also focused on their importance once Prevna and I demonstrated our ability to travel to one another.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Ingrasia slipped out of the shadow closest to me where it stretched out on the path leading down to the rest of the Seedling Palace. It seemed that she also had taken the time to learn the pair of skills. I brought my mental shield back up as she hopped up onto the delicate railing and made her way over to me.

“You said you have a question for me?”

I stared at her feet. The railing was as wide as a couple fingers pressed side by side at most. It was also rounded and smooth, but she didn’t so much as wobble as she walked on the thin bit of amber. She hadn’t even hesitated before she perched on top of the railing either, even though we were on one of the highest points in the Scales sect tree.

“It’s still not my blessing.” Ingrasia did a little hop on top of the railing. “Just a lifelong habit.”

I drew in a deep breath and forced the shock aside. “I know. It’s language, right?”

She grinned. “You learned that quick. Only Ana figured it out faster.”

“How quickly did she figured it out?”

“Our first conversation, but, to be fair, she caught me speaking in a dialect I had no right to know.” Ingrasia waved further questions away. “But enough about that. What did you need to ask in person?”

Mishtaw had advised me to be honest with her. It still went against myself preservation instincts, but I’d resolved to at least layout the basic situation for her. I started with the easiest thing to admit. “Kaylan wants to teach me information gathering.”

“She wants in on the fun, hmm?” Ingrasia shrugged. “Well, why not? She rarely gets interested in seedlings and there’s different things you can learn from each of us. I’ll add her to your training as her schedule allows.”

“Really?” My eyes went wide with disbelief.

“Did you think I’d say no?” Ingrasia spun as if she was on solid ground and started walking the other way. It was enough to help me understand Juniper’s fear of heights. I might not die from the fall but even I had balked at the much wider narrow paths in the Seed Landing. I couldn’t imagine prancing around on the railing like Ingrasia did.

She added, “There’s no reason not to. Your mentor ban is lifted, she’s from Hundred Eyes, and she can teach you useful things.”

It was so different from my previous situation that I wasn’t sure what to think. Normally, I was lucky to even get one mentor to teach me when they had time. Now, if Kaylan really did start to teach me, I’d have her, Esie, and Ingrasia and her apprentices. I didn’t want to be beholden to all of them, but it was also true that with their knowledge I could learn a lot faster than I had before. I’d have to take advantage of the circumstances while I had them.

I told her the basics of my involvement with the situation with the Swirling Waters delta including that both Esie and Dawnli had taken pains to make sure I was aware of the fighting there. Better to tell her now then have Juniper and me disappear without word within the week.

Ingrasia grew more grim as I spoke until she crouched down to be closer to eye level. “Do you know what’s going on in the Seedling Palace?”

I shook my head and it looked like she held in a sigh before she continued, “Perhaps that’s to be expected given how often you were away. We’re on the edge of a Succession War and the situation in the delta will likely be the first proxy war. Seedlings don’t often get pulled in too far since no one considers them a threat. They have no chance at winning.”

I frowned. “What are you saying?”

“A Succession War happens whenever one of the Chosen pass away. Talitha isn’t gone yet but she’s been wasting away for years even with the Black Handed Healers’ best care. Everyone knows it, just like they know she will likely pass away within the year and that the goddess will replace her. There’s always the same number of Chosen.

“Sect heads and their seconds are exempt, except on the rare occasion a second decides to opt in. Sect heads never do. They are expected to keep their sect stable. Those like me whose usefulness is largely outside the goddess’s territory are also largely considered outside the Succession War. Sprouts and younger seedlings are always exempt. Saplings can be used but are rarely considered true contenders. Whoever becomes the next member of that inner circle will gain power and prestige and whichever sect or faction they represent will gain influence as well. Our current balance of power will inevitably shift to some degree or another.”

My eyes were as wide as they could go as I tried to process all the implications of what she was saying. “And how is the successor chosen?”

“Whoever catches the goddess’s attention. Whoever She deems worthy. It could be within a day of Talitha passing or months, though the next is always chosen before the next walk on the Calling Road. People will also be vying for the Beloved’s attention—should she decide to vouch for someone, that person is always chosen.”

My blood ran cold. Normally, catching the goddess’s attention was thought be more ill luck than good, but there was little chance She’d choose someone She didn’t even know to consider. No wonder Esie had gone so still when I told her the goddess had spoken to me during the boon trial. I had done more than enough to catch the goddess’s attention more than once.

“And this proxy war?” I pressed.

Ingrasia explained, “The sects and factions—those groups whose loyalty includes those of different sects—use proxy wars to decide on their best candidates and compete for the goddess’s attention. They’re weeding grounds and places for the different groups to prove themselves against one another. Savior of Swirling Waters has quite a ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“And why tell me all of this?”

Ingrasia huffed out a breath and rose back up, so she towered over me on the railing. “You know why. Sapling or not, you’re being pulled in. Dawnli and Rivon used their test to see if you had knowledge about the brewing proxy war and, when you didn’t, they went with their original decision to place you under me and outside the Succession War. They wanted to keep your abilities within the sect. Esie is dragging you back into the War. She might like her position as it is, but if you manage to become one of the Chosen then the Lady of Calm Waters’ faction will be boosted.”

I didn’t know what to think. Part of me was thrilled that I was much closer to becoming one of the Chosen than I ever would have dreamed while another part was pissed that Esie had been maneuvering me for something so significant without telling me. A significant part of me was also dreading all the crazy circumstances being part of the Succession War would likely drag me into.

Still, I could get more information from Ingrasia while I had the chance. I had skirted around telling her that I had spied on the original meeting but I had mentioned being part of the one right before I contacted her. “And everyone else in the meeting about the delta?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Likely a candidate or sizing up the competition for one. The delta won’t be the only proxy war, but it will be a significant one. If Esie brought them all on then she was likely using it for the latter.”

Sometimes I wished a fight could just be a fight. A meeting just a meeting, but that rarely seemed to be the case when it came to Esie.

Ingrasia seemed to notice that I was getting overwhelmed despite my best attempts to keep my whirling thoughts behind a unaffected mask. She said, “At least there’s one thing you don’t have to worry about.”

I crossed my arms. “What?”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’m not one of those mentors who can’t adapt their training. Your training will not be interrupted. We’ll join you and Juniper when you get called to the delta.”

Wonderful.