I suck in a breath. Here goes nothing. I bite down and rub my palm hard on the rugged edge of her stone bed. It burns. Blood puckers out the puncture on my hand and the Seer tilts her head in satisfaction, pointing to the fire. I hold my hand over the edge of the stone platform, and blood drips into the blue flame beneath. I hand her my last coin and she smiles.

“There is coming a what?” I ask.

“There is a coming a great betrayal, child.”

Her words pierce like a dagger and I gasp.

“Trust is a dangerous thing,” she goes on. “Someone you trust has already betrayed you. But they are only the first.”

My throat tightens. “Who?” I squeeze out. “Tell me who!”

She holds out her hand.

“I have nothing else. No more gold. Only blood.” The rings in my hair are tiny, nowhere near the amount of gold as the coin. And even if it were enough, giving her those feels… wrong.

“Well, then. I have given you what you’ve paid for.” She eases herself back down on her stone pillow, gritting her teeth as if it hurts her. “Leave me now. I must rest.”

As I turn my back on her, fingers as cold as death wrap around my arm. “Understand me,” she whispers, her gaze racy. I try to pull away, but her grip is ironclad. “They will betray you, Jelani.” She shoves each word out like it’s a fight. “And you will not see it coming.”

My platform begins its descent, and her death grip slips from my arm, but her eyes burn into me. My bones throb all over like I’m being pierced with a thousand needles.

“At least tell me who has already betrayed me!” I shout again, but the fire is out and it’s so dark, I can’t see my hand in front of my face. My platform eases into place in the ground with a shudder, and I barrel toward the door. I bang on it with my fists and Taavi pulls it open.

“Did you get what you need?” she asks.

I ignite a flame on my fingertip and hold it to her throat. “Get me out of here.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

TRUST NO ONE.

It’s not a foreign concept, but I’d be lying if the Seer’s words didn’t shake me. I’m careful about who I let in my bubble. It took Jhamal months in that cell to get me to open up about what happened to Moms and Tash. And he’s never done anything to me. Once people wriggle their way in, something shifts, and it’s impossible to get rid of them. So I keep the list short.