262

MAXINE

Zel turned to the door with a smile. As she left, she gave me a small nod. As the door closed and it was locked, I quickly reached into my pocket and felt the smooth surface of a small coin.

It was warm to the touch. I could feel the energy of Zel’s magic on it. I curled my fingers around it. We had a plan now, a real one that might work.

I sat on the edge of the bed, turning the coin over in my hand. We could get out of this mansion and away from Ronan's rule. If we could just find a way to get to Liam's allies, he might have a fighting chance to take back what belongs to him.

Still, I couldn’t help but think about how big of a risk this was. If Ronan found out before we could execute it or if any of his guards suspected, it could end badly for all of us. Ronan would lock us up in a real cell.

I took a deep breath and slipped the coin back into my pocket. “One step at a time,” I said to myself. “We can do it, we will do this. We have to.”

The guard returned to check on me a fe