“We are not friends,” she told me, tossing the flowers over the edge of her balcony. “We are not family.” I was no longer a child, nor a student, nor even a girl. If I was to succeed, I must become a shadow stretching unseen into the descending night. And when necessary, to be a knife in the dark.

From that moment on, every step I took was to bring myself closer to that goal.

Now, unless I find a way to restore my place with her, I will be none of those things. Not a soldier. Not the Shadow. Just a girl, once again, with no true name.

“Since you’ve proven to be sharp as well as observant, tell me: What did you gather about the attack?” asks Prince Meilek.

I press my lips together and consider what, if anything, to say. Given his relationship with Kendara, I can’t come up with a good reason not to tell him the shamans had been targeting the Shadow. Besides, it’s in my best interest to gain his trust and prove that I wasn’t involved.

I tell him about the shaman with the crossed swords. “She needs to know it was a trap.”

“I’ll ensure she’s informed and that measures are taken to protect her.”

I nod, reassured. Kendara will be fine. In addition to the arsenal in her tower, she never goes anywhere without her favorite weapons at her waist—two dual swords that she’s never allowed me to touch. She’s even named them: Suryali and Nyia, after the sun and moon.

“The shaman either stole the brooch from the true informant or deceived the queen and planned the meeting as an ambush all along.” Probably an attempt to weaken the queen’s power by taking out her master spy and assassin. “Were you able to question him yet?”

When only silence sits between us, I glance over, keeping my gaze on the prince’s chin. He has warm, lightly bronzed skin, a strong jaw, and full lips. Back in the Prince’s Company, those lips had nearly always been curved into a smile. Now, although his expression remains neutral, his hesitation sparks a realization.

“You haven’t caught him.” An angry knot of disbelief forms in my gut. My hands clench around Yandor’s reins. Why would Blades be south of the teahouse if the shaman hadn’t been caught yet? Assuming he intends to escape into the Empire, north is the only direction he would head.

“I sent a search party of Blades north,” Prince Meilek explains. “But I couldn’t disregard the possibility that he’d go south to Vos Gillis. A large port city makes it easier to disappear. I sent others ahead without me, but once you and Saengo are seen to, I’ll continue that way. It’s possible he’s already been apprehended.”