We don't go far. Or into any houses or buildings here. Instead Om leads us back to the out ridges of the island, where few houses are and where more of the trees are left alone to grow as tall as they want.

"So what's the plan?" I ask. I pace back and forth between the trees that surround us. I can't sit still. Not when Peggy could be getting hurt right now. Not when she's still stuck and we're walking away.

Om leans back on one of the trees. They're chin is tilted back as if they are looking to the leaves for answers. Which wouldn't be surprising if they were.

"What if we charged into the palace and demanded her back?" Cam suggests.

Om shakes their head. "That would never work. The guards would catch you."

"Plus, you aren't good in a fight," I add.

Cam glares at me. I glare right back.

"Then what if we asked what he wanted in return?"

"We know what he wants," I say. "He wants Peggy to heal Tace."

"Would she heal Tace though? And if she does would Za let her go?"

I shrug and wrap my arms around myself. "I'm honestly not sure if she would." I want to believe that she would, out of the kindness of her heart. But the way she looked and how much hatred she held for Za that was coming off her in waves makes me think she won't.

"Can she do that?" Om whispers.

I almost don't hear Om. I look towards them and tilt my head. "What do you mean?"

Om shrugs. "If she would be open to healing Tace would she be able to heal a whole island?"

I duck my head, not wanting to meet Om's eyes as I answer. "I'm... I'm not sure."

Om sighs, and turns to face the sky.

I reach out, wanting to comfort them. I retract my arm before I can place it on their shoulder. I don't know how to comfort them but this seems like a good start.

"So... what do we do then?" Cam asks.

"You still want to save her, right?"

I nod, then realize Om isn't watching me. "Of course."

They turn around. "Then we do exactly that."

"But how?"

Om smiles, "We have the perfect spy who can find us a way in."

I look at Cam. "Who?"

"I don't think any of us would be good at that," he says.

Om shakes their head. "It would be Tace."

Cam nods. "That makes more sense."

"Would Tace do that for us?" I ask.

Om nods. "Even if Peggy won't heal it, Tace will still help. It doesn't like how Za is treating her."

I naw at my lip. "I hope this'll work."

"It has too," Cam says.

"Are you ready for me to send Tace?

I nod and take a deep breath. "Let's do this."

We wait at the edge of the island as Tace gathers the information we need.

I've been staring at the bridge that sits a few feet away from us. People have been crossing it all day. Some of their conversations have reached out here to me and a lot of them are talking about the announcement Za made. It shakes me up to hear them more excited about their island being healed rather than how hurt the girl had looked to them. Did they not see something wrong about the whole situation?

I sigh.

Maybe they're all like me. Too blinded by the excitement of something new to see the underlying wrongness.

Om jerks up from where they were lying down. "I have the information we need."

My eyes widen. "Really?"

Om nods.

Cam sits up from where he had been resting. "Where is she then?"

"She's in one of the deeper parts of the palace."

"So how are we supposed to get to her then?" I ask.

Om smirks. "With a lot of sneaking around."

I roll my eyes. "Wasn't that the whole plan to begin with?"

Om snickers. "True. But there's only one way for us to get into the palace. Then we have to make it from that one room down to your friend without being spotted."

I gulp. "And what room would that be?"

"King Za's bedroom."

My jaw drops. "We're supposed to sneak through his room?" This sounds like something out of a teenage romance movie.

Cam's eyes are wide. "There's no way we can do that. The chances of us getting caught there are high!"

Om rolls their eyes. "Not if we plan it right. If we make our way over to the palace now and we wait outside until Tace tells us he isn't there then it should be fine."

My gaze falls to my lap. I massage my hands. As if I'm trying to get rid of the nervousness that rattles through me. "Are we sure that it's a good idea?"

"It's your only option to save your friend right now." Even when I don't look up at Om I can hear the eye roll in their words.

I sigh. They have a point. Right now this is our only option for saving Peggy. And as much as I want there to be, there aren't any other solutions lining up for us.

I glance over at Cam. I try my best to gauge what he thinks. He purses his lips and stares down at the ground.

"Cam?" When I say his name he glances up at me. "What do you think?"

He shrugs his shoulders. When I continue to just stare him down he relents. He curls in on himself as if he's scared to voice his thoughts, or for any backlash he might receive. "It's not the greatest most thought out plan," he pauses. "But it might work in a very slim and terrifying way."

I turn and look away from them and towards the palace. I know what I have to do to save Peggy. But this whole plan terrifies me. It's not that well thought out, we don't know where in the place we'd be going. It depends a lot on how sneaky we can be and if there's any good hiding spots. Anytime me and Peggy would plan out how to take her rivals down we would spend time and think of every possible problem that could arise and how to deal with it.

I know we're in a bit of a time crunch, but isn't a thought out plan better than this risky not even an actual plan plan?

I chew my lip. But with the very little information we have this seems to be the best option we have. There's so much I'm not a fan about with this plan. But right now it's all we have. And I want to save Peggy. So, I turn around and say; "Let's do it."