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Everything he did, every breath he took, meal he ate, moment he spent--it was all leading toward one thing, right now.

But it wasn't a straight path. He'd realized that very quickly. He couldn't just run in and try to break everyone out. Even if Cousin Melchor and the others were with him, that wouldn't be the right way to go.

It was an open question as to whether or not they currently had enough power in the country in order to overwhelm the VMP with brute force alone, but even supposing that they did, there was the much more pressing issue of getting everyone out of the country safely once they were free.

These Invisibility rings were profoundly useful, but they wouldn't be able to conceal hundreds of people. And once they made a big splash, the VMP would be all over them--and most likely Abolish, as well.

They had to be especially mindful of all the non-servants among the captives. The entirety of Houses Redwater, Zabat, Garza, Stroud, and Merlo were all there. Once their servants were free, they would be a huge help in a fight but not necessarily in matters of stealth.

Great care was required here. Any mistakes could mean the death of his kin.

That was why he had decided to break the Atreyan spy, Donald Elias, out of prison first.

In that regard, the timing couldn't have been better. Between the new prisoners they were importing and the intensifying siege on Ridgemark, the VMP had its hands completely full, right now. They didn't have their attention on Bridgewater Prison.

It had certainly looked imposing from the outside with its high walls and watchtowers. But as expected, it hadn't done much good against the power of Invisibility.