According to Aiden’s watch, we arrived back at the rock formation five minutes before the scheduled time. The woman we had assigned to the base had not received a message from Bast, the climber, and none of the other group members were to be found. I leaned against the rock, ground the toe of my boot into the sand, and shared a look of worry with Paul.

“Look!” Aiden hissed, pointing in the direction of the gorge. I squinted into the sun, watching as three men appeared from within a fold in the rock. After glancing at the others, I stepped forward cautiously, reaching for my weapon before I remembered that I had left it in my chambers.

As the figures grew closer, it became clear that two of the men were supporting the other between them. I relaxed slightly, realizing that they were more likely to be retreating than scouting. “It’s them,” Aiden said, watching the group with his sharp eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat and strode towards them, soon recognizing Lukas and two men from the opposition that had been part of our team. I winced as I looked over their bruised and battered bodies.They won’t be of much help, now.

“What happened?” I asked, directing my question at Lukas.

“We were ambushed in a gorge. It was a massacre.”

“Did you see the others?”

Lukas’ expression was answer enough. “Then we’re down to eight people,” I said, “if you count Bast on top of the rock, and that one…” I looked down at the man that Lukas was supporting, my eyes tracing a rivulet of blood as it ran from split skin around his eye down to his chin. “That one is in bad shape.”

“Muriel was a good fighter,” Aiden said. “We’ll be hard-pressed now.”

We’re better off without her, I thought, but kept my comments to myself. I turned to the third member of the group, a young man from the opposition. He barely looked at me as I called to him, instead staring at his injured friend with eyes wide-open with terror. For the first time, I realized how young he was, no older than I had been when I fled from the capital. “Are you hurt?” I asked.

“O-only my hand,” he replied, holding up his bloodied knuckles.

“He did well,” Lukas said. “He helped us escape.” The boy didn’t react to the praise, instead letting his head flop back onto his chest.

I gripped him by the shoulder, feeling him tremble beneath me. “Do you want to go home?”

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded miserably. I released him, already turning toward the others. “Take your friend and forfeit.”

“We need everyone if we’re going to win,” Aiden argued as he crouched down to help the young man.

I shook my head. “No. They can’t help us, and they need medical attention. This is just a training exercise—it’s not worth risking their lives.” Besides, I’ve already decided that they’re not going to be part of the assassination force.

Aiden twisted around to look at me, seemingly caught off guard, but did not question my decision. Instead, he pulled the boy to his feet, and the two injured men limped off in the direction of the camp.

I brushed a hand over my eyes, breathing deeply. “Six of us left, and I’m sure the other offensive teams are no better. We need a new strat-”

I was cut off as something rushed through the air about two yards away, burying itself in the sand with a plop. The watcher, Bast’s friend Maureen, dug her hand into the sand, pulling out a rock wrapped in brown parchment. I rushed to her side, reading the message over her shoulder.

Tunnel over river - near fishery - west side

“Finally, some news,” I muttered. “The defense has made their base inside the rock. There must be an opening near where they harvest the fish.”

“We need to leave right now,” Paul added. “If we climb the rock and approach from the top, we’ll be less likely to be ambushed.”

I looked around at the remainder of my group. “Let’s do this.”

The five of us set off across the sand, leaving Bast on the rock that had served as our post. When we reached the walls of the gorge, I gripped the rockface, climbing hand over foot. Maureen, Paul, and Aiden were the strongest climbers, and took the lead due to their years of experience navigating Bellgate.

Only a half-dozen feet up the rock wall, I was drenched in sweat and shaking with exhaustion. The four-story climb was grueling, and without ropes or picks I knew one misstep could send me falling to the sand and rocks below. The knowledge that our position made us vulnerable to ambush, combined with the time constraint, only put more pressure on me to keep moving.

When I finally reached the top, the others pulled me to my feet. I panted, rubbing a cramp out of my chest. Before we set off again, I pulled my canteen from my waist, upcapped it, and poured the water over my raw and scraped hands.

As we walked, the wind whipped across the top of the plateau, strong enough to blow us off course if we didn’t pay attention. The five of us stayed close together, scanning the landscape every couple of seconds in case of attack. To our right, one of the tributaries of the Lunimis river gargled between the multi-layered walls of a gorge.

It wasn’t long before we saw the first nets of the fishery. A few of Gibnor’s people were tending to the fish, but they hardly paid us any mind as we passed overhead. Soon after, we came upon a large boulder with a rope tied around its girth. Glancing at each other, we followed the rope to the edge, where it hung down about twenty feet before disappearing into the rock.

I planted my hands on the edge of the cliffside and leaned forward. The entrance to the cave was small, no larger than the door to my dwelling, with no stairs or ledges leading to it. I turned back to the men, shaking my head to rid it of the height-induced dizziness. “We can’t just use the rope—they’ll have at least one person guarding the entrance, and he’ll take us out as soon as we try to climb inside.”

“It’s risky, but I have an idea,” Paul said in low tones. “One of us could come from the bottom, and another from the top. When the guard is distracted, we surprise him and take him out.”

Aiden stooped, coming back up with a fist-sized rock clamped between his fingers. “Maureen, Lukas, and I can wait here. We’ll keep watch and follow you if you’re successful. And if worst comes to worse…” he held up the rock, miming throwing it. “I’ll knock him out, or at least distract him.”

“Only if you have to,” I replied. “Remember that this is just an exercise. If you see a defense team coming, cut the rope.”

“What about once we’re inside?” Paul asked. “We don’t know how many people are stationed at their base. We could be overwhelmed immediately.”

“You’re right, but we don’t have gas or flame to smoke them out. If I had to guess, I’d say that they assigned most of their people to ambush teams, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

Aiden checked his watch. “We’re down to an hour.”

For a moment, we all looked at each other, the atmosphere thick with apprehension. “Okay,” I finally said, “I’ll climb up from the bottom.”

I walked a few yards down and gripped the edge of the cliff, lowering myself down parallel to the opening. I moved slowly, trying to keep my arms steady as they trembled with exertion. The rockface was pitted with footholds, but the vertiginous drop to the gorge below forced me to take my time in each foot and hand placement. The river was a small consolation—even if I managed to avoid hitting my head during the fall, from such a height the water might still break a few bones.

I steadied myself and took stock, realizing that I was directly across from the opening. I lowered myself a few more yards and then began to shuffle sideways, bringing myself directly beneath the hole. Above, I could see Paul beginning his descent using the rope.

I climbed the last couple of feet and hauled myself over the edge, unable to control my desperate breaths. There was a grunt as the defense’s sentry noticed my presence. As I tried to get my feet under me, he closed the distance between us and pushed my shoulder with his foot to force me back.

I slipped, my legs giving way until they dangled uselessly over the edge. I squeezed my eyes shut, too exhausted to do anything but hold on for dear life. Come on, Paul, I begged, hurry the hell up.