Kire grimaced when Ruli asked her about the wards affecting her, remembering the Lithilote wards. “Ugh. I do not want to feel that ever again,” she muttered. “Though that goes for all three of us, I bet. I don’t know if it’ll have the same effect as the Lithilote wards. I haven’t exactly encountered a lot of nullifying magic before. There could be a chance that it does.” At the mention of needing her elsewhere so she didn’t fall into the trap, the cousins looked at her. Kire didn’t look too enthusiastic about the idea, but she didn’t immediately offer an objection. “If I do agree, I won’t be too far,” she said, “I need to be directing the soldiers, anyway.” The mention of trying to deceive the enemy and drawing them away made her frown again, especially after Ysaryn pointed out how all their magic would be compromised. “This isn’t just a slavers’ den where you draw thugs away from us,” she said. “Once the wards are in place and the Gemini can’t use their magic anymore, it will be the army’s job to step in.” She looked at Gavin. “What kind of trap? And what kind of defenses are we expecting, anyway?” 

	Gavin pursed his lips, thinking it over. “You’ve seen some of them when you fought hi—Ikegai’s dolls. Remember the chamber with the big rune circle? Where she met you?” He glanced up at the three in question before looking back down. “Illusions and hallucinations. If they’re on the retreat too, spells of concealment. Plus the dolls.” He frowned. “They might have booby-trapped the Palace too. Like how the mine collapsed when s-she was killed. Spilling your blood within the net of their wards might be enough for them. So our wards have to be that much stronger. Your blood might be enough for that too, but…” His voice trailed off. He knew what that entailed. When he was setting up the wards for Ikegai, he’d spilled his own blood for that, too. 

	Kire sensed where he was going with it, and it looked like Daryll could see it, too. “That’s a last resort. My blood may be enough. Seeing as they’re all so hungry for it,” she muttered. “Back to the hallucinations. I remember—it tapped into my fears. My-my shame.” Her lips curled at the memory. 
	“Stonehollow?” Elva said quietly.
	“Stonehollow. And the Storm,” Kire murmured back. “Will everyone within the scope of their power have the same experience?” 
	Gavin nodded. “Possibly, yeah.”