That evening, I met with Nicholas and Julian in one of the sitting rooms. Julian had unfurled the blueprints to the palace out on one of the small tables. Now, he was holding a cup of coffee in each hand. He likely hadn’t been to sleep yet.
Neither had Nicholas, though he was running on adrenaline instead of caffeine.
“With Jane escalating in violence, we have to move quicker as well,” Nicholas said. “We need to put a plan into action as soon as possible.”
“We need a plan first,” Julian said. “You are skipping steps.”
Nicholas pushed a hand through his hair.
“There has to be something we can do,” I said. “I’m tired of waiting around for Jane to make her move. We’re constantly on the back foot.”
“Piper’s right,” Nicholas said. “We need to go on the assertive. Stop playing defense and
