Zarya jumped at the strident tone that startled her out of her thoughts. Not just because it was so angry, but because it came from the last person she expected to burst into her bedroom.

“Sorche? What are you doing here? Who let you in?” Unless Maris gave clearance, no one was supposed to be allowed into the governor’s private wing without a full escort.

Her sister didn’t answer. Instead, she rushed across the room to take her by the arm. Sorche pulled her toward the hallway door. “Look, there aren’t any guards outside. I think we can make it out before anyone realizes you’re gone.”

Unsure if she should laugh or be insulted, Zarya gaped at her. “What are you talking about?”

Sorche lowered her voice to a tiny whisper. “I saw the news, okay? I know he’s holding you against your will, and—”

Zarya refused to let her sister haul her across the room. She twisted her arm out of Sorche’s grasp. “It’s not against my will.”

Sorche cocked her head. “The UCN said that he had mind control over you. Do you know who I am?”

Zarya gave her a droll stare. “My annoying little sister who has driven me insane since the moment she came into this world and threw up all over my favorite dress.” She placed her hands on Sorche’s shoulders and met her gaze levelly so that she could see Zarya was in full possession of her own mind. “I am here by choice, Sorche. That’s why I don’t have guards. I’m free to leave anytime I want to. I have the money and the means to leave.”

“Then why are you here?” Fear sparked in her brown eyes. When she spoke again, her voice was barely audible. “You’re going to kill the governor, aren’t you?”

“No.” Biting her lip, Zarya debated telling her sister the truth. While Sorche was extremely loyal, she could also be scattered, and extremely stupid at times. “I’m going to tell you something, but you have to swear on our mother’s soul that you will never, ever breathe a syllable of it to another living being.”

“Even Ture?”

“Even Ture.”

Sorche considered it for a few heartbeats. “Then it has to be good. Spill it.”

“Swear first.”

Sorche nodded eagerly. “Okay, I swear it.”

Now Zarya understood why Maris had hesitated with her. It was hard to let go of a confidence when you knew it would destroy the person you loved most if anyone else heard it. And while she trusted her sister, she was still afraid that by talking about this, she might do Darling harm.

But in the end, she knew she had to tell her sister the truth. Sorche wouldn’t accept anything else. So taking a deep breath, she forced the words out. “Darling is Kere.”

Sorche gaped at her disclosure. For several seconds, all she did was blink until she finally gasped, “Your fiancé Kere?”

“The one and the same.”

“The Sentella Kere who is wanted dead by the League and—”