ALLIANCE WITH FINNThe hallway felt too long and too bright. Every time a torch flickered in its bracket, I thought it was a guard’s lantern. We moved like ghosts, pressing our muddy backs against the silk wallpaper. My heart was thumping so hard I was sure the soldiers in the next room could hear it.

"Left at the statue," I breathed, my voice barely a thread of sound. "There’s a servant’s passage behind the tapestry."

"How do you know that?" Silas whispered. He was sweating, despite the ...