Tyne's frown draws harshly on his face, tugging the sides of his lips down. But the glint of curiosity is already there in his eyes and I seize it, explaining before he has a chance to even ask me.

“I had a vision,” I say. “A premonition about the dinner the King is hosting tomorrow for the Farrows.”

“And?”

“And the King makes a mistake.”

His eyebrow raises in warning, letting me know that I’m teetering dangerously close to treason.

Still, I forge on.

“At the dinner, the King will start with a toast and a rousing welcoming speech. Then he will offer the Pangeans drinks. One of the drinks he serves is poisonous,” I continue. “He means to poison the Raven girl at this dinner, but the poison will not take effect for several weeks. Once they leave, she will fall ill and it will only get worse from there. Eventually, the Pangeans will trace it back to the King and they will seek vengeance on us. They will launch an attack that will wipe out most of the Elite Soldiers. This attack weakens us significantly, and it leads to the whole extinction of the North. It will be a big mistake.” I sigh. “I’ve been tormented by this vision for days now and I didn’t know how to bring it to the king without losing my head. But then I thought, if it’s you…”

Tyne smirks without humor. “You would rather I lose my head?”

“No. But I figured a clever man such as yourself would be able to find a way to avert the danger, without angering the King.” I let my desperation show. “I truly think this would be a disaster, Sir Tyne.”

He crosses his hands over his chest and thoughtfully caresses his chin. “And why should I believe you?”

“You may not,” I say. “But I will tell you a sign to look out for. The king, while drinking his cup after his speech, will hold up his last finger." At least that's what Caster relays to me in the future. "That’s the signal he gives to have the poisoned chalice brought out. The servers will bring out all the drinks, on trays. The King will have each server try the drink first to ensure it's safety. Ravens will have also use their own poison testers for all the meals.”

"And the drink passes by all those checks?"

"Yes." However, I'm not sure why. "It must be a sophisticated poison."

"Which server is it? The one holding the poisoned wine?"

I shake my head. "I cannot describe them properly. I only know the events as I see them in my head, in flashes. I know the Raven girl has a coughing fit after she drinks the wine too quickly but that's all."

"By that point, it will be too late and she will have already ingested the poison," he murmurs. "And we have no way of knowing how many of the chalices the King poisoned."'

I nod. Then pause.

"The poisoned chalices. They have a special marking." I shake my head. "It's hard to describe but I think I could possibly identify them if I see them."

He looks doubtful and I dare to take his 'good' hand even though my skin crawls when I do it. I look into his eyes, urging him to be convinced by my feigned desperation and trust.

“Please,” I plead. “You’re the only one who can save this kingdom, Tyne. You're the only one who can stop the disaster to come.”

There. That should be enough to stroke his massive ego.

His eyes flicker down to where my hand holds his, and then his eyes come back up to mine. Something glints in them that makes me want to rip my hands back, but I keep staring at him, acting like I’m just as enthralled by him.

“I’ll consider your words,” he murmurs and I finally allow myself to pull back my hands, slowly, so he can't see my obvious disgust.

“Thank you." I bow and smile shyly when I straighten.

Tyne nods. “Now go. You only have a few more days to complete the activities of the second trial.”

I nod and turn around, my heart racing for several reasons as I continue down the path to the Village Square.

“Did it work?” Wolf asks after he appears from nowhere.

“We’ll see," I answer.

***

“I don’t understand,” Jace questions later after we convene once again at Wolf’s cottage. “If we warn Tyne and he prevents the poisoning, how does that help us infiltrate the place?"

I mull it over in my head, wondering how much to say. Truthfully, warning Tyne about the poisoning had very little to do with our mission, and everything to do with preventing disaster, but it will advantage us in one way.

"Tyne will call me to the dinner they're having," I say. "He'll want me there to identify which of the chalices have the special markings of the poison."

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"What? You mean he won't just tell the King what you said?"

"No. That's not his way," I mention. "If he tells the King what I saw and the disaster is prevented, then I will get all the credit. It would also make the King trust my visions more and inevitably he will become less reliant on Tyne and his advice. Tyne doesn't want that." As the son of a disgraced noble, Tyne had to claw his way to his current position, using and discarding anyone else who the King would go to for advice. I assume he'll continue on his current trajectory.

"You seem to know a lot about him," Savannah says.

I shrug. "I'm observant."

"Okay then. What next?"

"At the dinner, Tyne will likely disguise me as a maid so that the King will not know I'm there. He'll also want me to keep out of sight once I'm done, although he'll want me to be around in case I remember anything else from my vision. Then during the dinner, he will intercept the drink that the Raven Lady has, preventing her from drinking it." I'm sure Tyne already knows what poison it is, from my brief description.

"You mean he would defy the King?"

"Not in an obvious way. He'll stage it as an accident." Likely using a maid or a server to do it. He'll have them play the clumsy dolt and bump into the Raven girl spilling her drink. It's not unlike something he's had me do in the past.

"After the dinner is done, and he appeases the King for foiling his plan, he'll visit the Raven's room and inform them of the attempt on their life. He'll take me there as his Seer to confirm it. That should give me time to look around their rooms and get an idea of the layout to see how we would sneak in."

"That's too risky for too little pay-off," Tia points out.

"Yes, but if we succeed with this part then everything else becomes easier," I say. "Tyne, and me by association, will win the trust of the Raven's. And, that will be beneficial for the King, but most of all, for Tyne himself." It's the path with the highest reward for him because he will then retain the King's trust and win the Ravens too. It's likely the path he will take.

"But how will he convince the Ravens that there was a poison if the Raven girl doesn't drink it?" Savannah asks.

"Simple. Tyne will allow other members of their party to be poisoned too. Then when the symptoms start to manifest it will prove that what he said is true." Although, I'm sure he will pick spike their drinks faster acting poison than what the King intended so that it can appear true.

"This all seems too confusing," Tia says.

"Yes," I respond. "It will be very chaotic. But if it works and I gain the trust of the Ravens, then it's easier for me to gain access to their room, as they may call me to see what else my vision revealed. I can convince them that I need to do a special reading, and while doing that, one of you can cause a commotion outside and, in the chaos, I can sneak something away."

"Why does the King poison the Raven girl?" Tia asks. "Why not her father?"

I open my mouth to answer, but the truth is I'm not sure. I hesitate.

“It’s okay,” Jace says his lips curling in amusement “You don’t have to say tell us. We’ll go with it anyway.”

He completely misread my expression but I don't correct him, too stunned by what he said.

I frown at him. “Really? You'll just go along with my plan even if you may not know everything?"

“Yes,” he says and shrugs. “I trust you. You’ve saved me more times than I can count. If you don't want to tell us everything, it's probably for the best."

My heart is warmed by his words and the honest ease in his face, but Tia speaks out drily, “I don’t know if I have that level of trust yet.”

I nod, relating to her on a deeper level.

I admire Jace's ability to trust, but Tia's skepticism is a far more realistic response. "I"m not entirely sure why the King poisons the Raven girl and not her father. Perhaps it's because the Pangeans killed his sons. Maybe that's his petty payback."

“Is there a way to make the poisoning more dramatic and elaborate?" Savannah asks, sneaking me a look. "It could cause more chaos during the dinner and distract the Knights . That way you can sneak away from the dinner and into their rooms more easily."

I shake my head. “That's far too risky. I’m not willing to let the entire kingdom fall just pass a stupid test."

“What if the King doesn't end up poisoning the Raven girl?" Savannah asks. "What if he changes his mind?"

"He won’t." I already considered that change, but I don't think it will happen.

The King's hatred for the Pangeans runs too deep, and I've already planted a suspicion in his mind that the Ravens will betray whatever deal they have. He will likely seek to hurt them first before they can hurt him.

But why does he poison the Raven girl? That part continues to bug me. Why not poison all of them?

That I don't know, but I don't think it matter for now.

Another thing I have to consider is the possibility of Tyne responding differently than I expect. What if he indeed talks to the King and stops the poisoning from happening?

Then I will simply make up another vision to convince the King to let me go into the Raven's room as a maid.

At that point, both Tyne and the King will trust that my visions are true and I will become the King's tool. That might even be the better and simpler solution.

But I don't think that's the path Tyne will take. He's always preferred more convoluted, twisted schemes.

Still, I will need to form a plan for every scenario.

"For now," I tell my team. "We need to get ready for anything."

They share a look amongst themselves and Tia sighs deeply. "Let's hope you're right about this."

We descend into a considering silence, interrupted only by the clanging of a spoon against a metal pot.

Wolf is by the stove, cooking meat soup with herbs that water my tongue already.

A few minutes later, he slides a bowl of it in front of me.

"Thank you," I say with a smile and he nods.

"What about ours, Wolfy?" Jace quips and Wolf shoots him a withering glance, before walking back to the stove.

"Boy, he sure knows how to treat guests,” Tia murmurs. "Would it kill him to be polite?"

"Believe it or not, this is him being polite," Savannah counters, and Jace and I chuckle.

Sav suddenly pops up to her feet. "Alright then. If we're done, I need to go train. I'll also try to see if I can sneak onto the castle grounds, and survey the area a bit just in case."

"Good idea," Tia says, standing. "I'll go practice too."

With identical waves, the two head to the door, leaving together.

Wolf turns from the stove and stares daggers into Jace's head.

Jace grins.

"Fine," he says and gets up. “I suppose I’ll go make myself busy somewhere else then.” And with that, he too leaves.

Wolf and I are now alone.

I take the spoon, stirring the soup in my bowl slowly.

Wolf soon joins me with his bowl of his own, sitting.

“Aren’t you going to ask me,” I venture. “What the real plan is?”

I know he could tell that the plan I told our team had a few holes in it.

Wolf shakes his head, and stares pointedly at my food, as though ordering me to eat.

I grin and ferry a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

"Tastes better than usual," I tell him.

He nods. "I used some new herbs I found in the forest. It enhances the flavor of the meet."

“Amazing. When I'm done, do you want me to make you some more wine tarts?" I ask and Wolf nods.

“Have you heard anything about your mother?” I ask next.

He shakes his head. He’s been gone most nights, trailing the Elite Guards and the Elite Soldiers I suppose. Hopefully, that will reveal more about his mother.

I pray we find her before it's too late.

I also pray my mission tomorrow is a success and won't lead to my beheading.