Rudiger winced as Nin-Akna peeled away the blood-soaked cloth that bandaged his arrow wound. It still stung, but it looked okay—at least, it did once she washed away the dried blood.

The Temple had actual medical supplies—clean bandages, fresh water, alcohol—and now that they had a bit of breathing space, they were taking the opportunity to tend their injuries better than they had been able to before.

“Meleng knows this better than I do,” Nin-Akna said.

“You’re doing fine for me,” Rudiger said.

She had already re-bandaged Felitïa’s shoulder wound and adjusted the splints on her fingers. Rudiger couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Felitïa to have her fingers broken one after the other—especially when so much of what she did relied on her hands. His own hand still ached and was a bit stiff, but at least he could use it.

They had met surprisingly little resistance entering the Temple again. There was no sign of Fra-Ichtaca or any guards. Only priests remained and they surrendered without violence. They said that Fra-Ichtaca had gone down to the lower levels and taken the guards with her. Nin-Akna had then kicked them all out of the Temple. There might be more priests on the lower levels, as they only searched the first three, but Rudiger didn’t think they’d have any difficulties with any who showed up—unless the guards came back with them. But there was always a risk.

He wasn’t sure how much he liked the idea of taking risks anymore. It would depend whether they survived all this.

He should have told Xoco the truth. Should have told her Ses-Zeltzin and Fra-Ichtaca were Darkers, told her how he knew. Maybe he would have convinced her; maybe he wouldn’t have. But at least he’d have a clearer conscience. Izel was right. He never should have gotten involved in all this.

“You two should head to Fra-Mecatl and Fra-Tepeu’s ranch,” Felitïa said as Nin-Akna finished tending Rudiger’s wounds. “Ses-Zeltzin has a large head-start on you, but she would have had to gather warriors first, so maybe there’s still time for you to get there.”

“What about you?” Nin-Akna said.

“I need to head back down into the Temple,” Felitïa said. “I need to know what Fra-Atl was trying to show us.”

“But you can’t!” Nin-Akna protested. “The Volgs! You can’t face them.”

“I’ll hide myself,” Felitïa said.

“But you can’t use your hands, and you’ve already said you need them for your hiding spell.”

“I’ll figure something out. I’ll make do.”

Nin-Akna jumped to her feet. “No, I won’t allow it. It’s suicide.”

“She’s right, Felitïa,” Rudiger said.

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“I have to do this. There’s something down there. It’s calling to me. I need to find out what it is.”

Nin-Akna shook her head. “You agreed that I was in charge. I’ve given you a lot of leeway on that because most of the time, what you say makes a lot of sense and I agree with it, but not this. I am not allowing you to go back down there alone, and that’s final.”

“Nin-Akna—”

“My decision is made, Felitïa. You will do as I say.”

“Can I point out something?” Rudiger said. “You can’t use your hands, so how are you going to open the doors?

Felitïa’s shoulders slumped.

“Thank you, Rudiger,” Nin-Akna said. “Why don’t you come with us?”

“Someone should stay here,” Felitïa said. “I’ll stay in the upper levels, but we need to know if Fra-Ichtaca comes back. Don’t worry, I’ll get myself to safety if that happens.”

“I don’t know,” Nin-Akna said. “We could use your help against Ses-Zeltzin.”

“You agreed with me that we need to know where everyone is and what they’re doing if we’re going to have a chance to get through this. Trust me, please.”

Nin-Akna sighed and nodded. “All right, but no going down into the lower levels.”

“I’ll stay up here,” Felitïa said. “I promise.”

“Okay. Come on, Rudiger. Let’s get ready.”

Rudiger stood up, donned his armour, and strapped Slay to his back. Nin-Akna handed him a spear as well. He still didn’t like spears, but he had to accept he was at a disadvantage with Slay against spear-wielders. When they were ready, they headed back to the entry level and out the doors.

It was almost night, with the barest hint of an orange glow over the western horizon. From the top of the pyramid, the City looked like a collection of shadows punctuated with flickering bits of light. A significant collection of those lights came from the vicinity of the lower courtyard of the Palace. Rudiger wondered what was happening there.

“Bahlam’s gone,” Nin-Akna said.

Rudiger looked around. She was right. With his handlers dead, the big cat had wandered off.

His gaze fell on Xoco’s body and he went over to her, took her hand. It was cold. “I’m sorry.”

Nin-Akna placed a hand on his arm. “I’ll avenge her. Ses-Zeltzin will die. I swear it.”

Rudiger leaned over and kissed Xoco’s forehead. “We better go.”

“Do you think Felitïa will stay put?” Nin-Akna asked as they started down the steps.

“I think so. Hard to say. Felitïa can be kind of headstrong.” In the months since he’d last seen Felitïa, she had come back a different person. Still Felitïa, but... He couldn’t really put his finger on it. Hardened? Focused? Determined, maybe. She had always been determined, but she seemed maybe a bit more. Or maybe it was all in his head. The stresses of battle could cause anyone to act differently or to misjudge someone acting normally.

It would be good to see Meleng again. Assuming Meleng was at the ranch and not the Palace. Either was possible.

He wished he could pick up Borisin, ride him to the ranch, get him away from the Palace before Ses-Zeltzin had a chance to carry out the Queen’s last order.

But there was no way they would get in and out of the Palace right now. They would just have to walk to the ranch and hope they weren’t too late.