I watch as Paul disappears down the steep stairs after the other Authority members to where they will watch the fight from below. I know Alaric has supporters within the palace, but never did I imagine that they would be so high up. A member of the Authority would have certainly not been my first guess, perhaps not even my last. I will have to ask Alaric how he managed that. His escape is seeming less unimaginable now. I take the empty throne seat beside Callan, one of three massive chairs that must usually be Lazarus's perch, but since he isn't using it and I don't know where else I should be, I make myself comfortable. I shift about nervously, waiting for someone to say something to me, but Callan and Lyra don't pay me any attention in light of the activity happening in front of them. My
