“For now.” The god nods a concession. “But you’ll see the truth in a few nights. This is just a fraction of my magic. If you find it is useful, imagine what else might exist between us. I am a patient god, Adrian. You might not want me today. You may not even want me a year from now. But I will wait for that fateful day to arrive, because I know I’m your best chance of winning the war that’s coming.”

He starts to rise. Instinct brings my knife around. He’s already violated me. I have no idea if he’s telling the truth, or if the spell he’s put over me will ruin everything. I’m not about to risk a second mistake. The knife flicks from my hand and shivers through the air. My aim is true. It hits right where the beating heart of his priestly vessel should be. I’m expecting the tear of flesh, the spurt of blood.

Instead, the Dread vanishes. Like he was never there.

The smoke clears. I sit there staring, and it’s like I imagined the whole thing. My eyes turn back to the door. It’s closed. The windows are shut, too. It takes a while to steady my breathing and shake off the effects. I am not here to parley with gods. I am here to start a rebellion. I am here to change the face of the Empire.

I’m here because Daddy sent me.

A shiver runs down my spine. The Dread lied to me. Nothing but lies.

It takes a little muscle to pull the knife free from the upholstered chair. I go through my normal routine before dousing the lamps and crawling into bed. I pretend to be calm—just in case the gods are still watching—but inside, my heart hammers in my chest. It takes hours to finally fall asleep. I drowse with one hand under my pillow, tight around the grip of my knife.

When I finally sleep, I dream of the sea.

Chapter 17: Scream

You planned every single detail to perfection.

And ever loyal, Bravos follows all of it step for step. The night of your tour through the Hall of Maps, he calls you from the mobile he has registered with the city. Your scripted conversation is brief. He says he didn’t want there to be any hard feelings. You say there aren’t any, that you’re too focused on the Races to feel anything else right now. He says that he misses you. You whisper a goodbye. It takes the hackers about five minutes to post the entire conversation onto the Chats.