Mama settles next to me on the padded carriage bench and says, “Tell me everything.”
I do for the most part, starting from when I first agreed to investigate the snatched. I don’t give her all the details—just a quick summary of what I learned and how. I move on quickly to my own a*******n and give her the same story I first did Bren. I don’t attempt to trick the sorceress’s binding.
Finally, Mama sits back. We’re nearly to Bren’s house, the going a little slower now, the streets busier. “You really believe we can rescue Niya?”
“And take down the Circle,” I say.
Bren, seated across from us, says, “Which raises the question of how exactly you intend to do such a thing. What is it you wouldn’t tell Filadon?”
I shrug uncomfortably. “I need to speak with the princess first.”
“What do you
