North returned to his chair at the table, across from her. “The girl complicates matters.”
“It was already complicated. And she won’t tell anyone we’re here.”
“Not on purpose, perhaps.”
“Well, I’m open to suggestions,” Cass replied.
“I wouldn’t have ever expected to say this, but I believe the safest thing for you… for you and the Governor.” He paused and rubbed his chin with his fingertips. “The safest thing is for you to leave Morningside.”
THIRTEEN
“And go where?” Cass asked.
“It would be better if I did not know,” North answered. “No one can steal information I do not possess.”
The concept struck Cass as both impossible and inevitable. How could they leave Morningside? And yet how could they stay? Members of the Council had gone from quietly attempting assassination and sabotage to a brazen assault. The only logical escalation was open revolution. And there was no telling how far or wide or deep the conspiracy had spread. Connor oversaw the entire contingent of guardsmen. Any one of them might be involved. All of them could be, for that matter.
And Aron. One of the few remaining elders. If he had their blessing, then Wren’s was truly a hollow power in the city. She thought back to the conversation with her son in the courtyard, just a few days before. The idea of leaving the city had seemed like a fantasy then. How quickly life could change.
“We can’t just leave. Wren most of all,” Cass said. “If he disappeared, there would be utter chaos.”
“Not if we conceal it. Security has already been tightened. We will simply spread word that the Governor must remain within the compound for his safety. No one need know otherwise.”
Cass tried to think it through, though her mind was fogged with fatigue and stress. A week, maybe two. Just long enough to get clear of the immediate danger. So much would need to be rebuilt over the coming months, but North was right. Ensuring Wren’s physical safety was their highest priority, and there was nowhere inside these walls they could trust for any length of time.
North leaned forward and touched Cass’s hand. “I do not mean exile, Lady. Only a temporary retreat, until we can be certain of your safety again.”
“Gamble,” Cass called. “What do you think?”
Gamble hopped off her table and approached. She didn’t sit at the table though, just leaned over it, with both hands on the back of a chair. “I think getting you out of the city is the smartest thing to do for you and your son. That’s my one and only concern. All the rest of it, I can’t say.”
“It might not be a great plan,” North said. “It might not even be a very good one. But I fear if we wait for a better one, it will then be too late.”
“It’s not really a plan, sir,” Gamble said. “But I agree. I think we move you to a secure location, and figure the rest out from there.”
“Gamble,” Cass said. “You do understand I’m not asking you to come with us?”
“Doesn’t matter if you ask us or not, ma’am,” Gamble said. “We’re coming.”
“Look, I appreciate the sentiment, but this isn’t what you signed up for.”
“Cass, what we signed up for was to do whatever it takes to keep you both safe. There’s not one of us that would let you walk out there on your own, whether you wanted us to or not.”
“We spent a lot of time out there on our own before we came here, Gamble.”
“And now you don’t have to.”
Cass didn’t know what to say. The circumstances were so far outside the boundaries of their professional duties, she couldn’t possibly expect them to stand by her side. But Gamble made it sound like she couldn’t expect anything less.
“Once you leave, you’ll have to assume we’re all traced,” North said.
“It’s alright, we’ve got Finn–” Gamble said, but cut herself off. She stood up straight, and Wick and Able both reacted in the same instant.
“What is it?” Cass asked.
“Alert just went out over wide broadcast,” Gamble explained. “They found the bodies.”
Swoop appeared from the back room a few seconds later, looking even more intense than usual.
“You want me back out front?” Wick asked.
“Stand by,” Swoop said.
“Do they know we’re gone?” Cass asked.
“Didn’t say, but we better get ahead of the curve on that,” Gamble answered. Then she added, “Finn, Gamble… need you to bounce a message…”
“Sir, you need to leave,” Swoop said to North.