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"DON'T POKE THE BEAR, NINA," KAZ SAID "We need him friendly. When does this party take place?"
"It's seasonal," Nina said. "on the spring equinox."
"Two weeks from today," Dinara noted, lifting her head from her knife. Kaz cocked his head to one side, his eyes focused on something in the distance.
"Scheming face." "Definitely." "100 percent." "Is the White Orss sending a delegation?" "I didn't hear anything about it."
"Even if we go straight to Djerholm," Inej said. "we'll need most of a week to travel. There isn't time to secure documents or create cover that will bear up under scrutiny."
"We're not going in through the embassy, are we?" "We aren't. Always hit where the mark isn't looking."
"Who's Mark?" Wylan asked. Dinara shook her head good-naturedly. Wylan was out of his league here.
Jesper burst out laughing. "Oh, Saints, you are something. The mark, the pigeon, the cozy, the fool you're looking to fleece."
Wylan drew himself up. "I may not have had your... education, but I'm sure I know plenty of words that you don't."
"Also the proper way to fold a napkin and dance a minuet. Oh, and you can play the flute. Marketable skills, merchling. Marketable skills."
"No one dances the minute anymore," Wylan spluttered out.
"What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?"
"Knife to the throat?" "Gun to the back?" "Poison in his cup?" "No. You put your boobs in view, make 'em stumble." "You're all horrible." "We know. It's part of the charm."
Kaz rolled his eyes. "Di has a point, but no. The easiest way to steal a man's wallet is to tell him you're going to steal his watch. You take his attention and direct it where you want it to go. Hringkälla is going to do that job for us. The Ice Court will have to divert resources to monitoring guests and protecting the royal family. They can't be looking everywhere at once. It's the perfect opportunity to spring Bo Yul-Bayur." Kaz pointed to the prison gate.
"It's hard to keep track of all your wisdom."
"At the prison, they won't care about who's coming in, just anyone trying to get out." His gloved finger slid sideways to the next sector. "At the embassy they won't care who's going out, they'll just be focused on who's trying to get in. We enter the prison, leave through the embassy. Helvar, is the Elderclock functional?"
