Throngs of bustling servants carried long strips of black silk and tablecloths, shining silver platters and glinting silverware, long coils of wire and boxes full of lightbulbs. As Wren and Hal wandered into the grand hall, they dodged between people wearing the livery of the major Cernosian noble families—no doubt they had been lent as a favor to Lowry after his staff had been so tragically decimated. The main staircase was polished to a syrupy gleam, and the balustrades that gated each landing were woven with copper wire and fragrant juniper and holly and crowned with metal lamps in the shape of a stag’s antlers. A blue electrical light blazed on each point. From her vantage point, she could look up and see the second-floor landing bedecked with silk and dotted with cocktail tables boasting centerpieces of evergreen and white catkin.

Once it was filled with music and guests, it would be spectacular.

As Wren made her way through the crowd, she bumped into Hannah. The other girl reeled back, nearly dropping her comically long to-do list. But as she realized it was them, all her startled exhaustion melted into relief.

“Hannah,” Wren breathed. “I’m so glad to—”

“I don’t have much time to talk. Follow me.”

Hannah led them into the drawing room and shut them inside, muffling the chatter from outside. The heavy curtains were drawn, letting in the late-afternoon sun. It washed over the parquet floor and suffused the room with a peculiar, sterile light.

“Is the Guard here?” Wren asked.

“No. They left yesterday.” She lowered herself into a chair, her expression nearly euphoric. She must have been on her feet all day. “I’m fine, by the way. Not at all harried. Not at all overwhelmed. I don’t suppose I could convince you reprise your role in the staff, Henry?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Alas. We’ve another day until the ball, but we’re still barely going to be ready.” Hannah sighed, restlessly folding her list into smaller and smaller squares. “I tried to cover for you both. I truly did. But Lord Lowry came looking for you. He’s … displeased.”

Of course he was. Wren hated that she was afraid. Since he needed them for something, Lowry wouldn’t hurt them. But that was exactly the problem. Over the past few weeks, Wren had learned there were things far worse than death.

“You did all you could.” Wren leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “I guess I owe you an explanation now.”

“Yes,” Hannah said quietly. “I believe you do.”

It all poured out. Lowry’s initial offer, her discovery of the poison, its connection to the missing soldiers in Danu and Vesria, the tunnel in the east wing. Hannah sat ramrod straight in her chair, listening as her folded hands grew paler, her eyes grew duller.