Prince Meilek pulls his dragule to a stop in the courtyard and dismounts. Warily, I do the same. Instantly, two guards are at my side, securing my wrists in iron shackles that wedge the troll bone into my skin. I clench my jaw and suffer the restraints in silence. My only consolation is that Prince Meilek cuts them off with a look when they attempt to do the same to Saengo.

“How long are we to stay here?” Saengo asks, her misery evident even without our connection. But with it, I’m being dragged underwater, chains wrapped around my ankles.

“Until I can address the matter with the queen. Although Sirscha will need to remain here, I should be able to relocate you to Vos Talwyn soon.”

She sucks in her breath, eyes darting from me to the Blades as she wages some internal war. Then she scowls and pushes her drake forward before dismounting at my side. “I won’t leave her.”

“That isn’t your decision to make,” Prince Meilek says, that edge returning to his voice.

Her anger builds inside her, a storm gathering size, speed, and devastation. I’ve always known that she presented a front, that her deference and obedience in the Company was as much an act as mine. But to feel it there, the great depth of her resentment colliding and breaking against me, makes me realize how much she’s kept hidden.

I raise my hands. The links in my shackles clank together as I place one palm on her chest, directly over the scar that rests above her heart. “It’ll be fine.” I wring every drop of conviction I have into the words so that she might believe me. “You’ll have your father’s influence to protect you.”

Saengo pulls me into a hug. I squeeze my eyes shut as we clutch each other, surrounded by the scents of dust, smoke, and despair. The deluge of her emotions crashes into me, rushing into my throat and clogging my lungs. I try to focus instead on her arms around me, sucking in air to remind myself that I can, in fact, breathe.

“Come on,” I say thickly. “You’re not going anywhere yet. Pull yourself together, Phang.”

One of the Blades places a hand on her shoulder, forcing us to part. Two other Blades flank me as they lead me toward the back of the building. Already, the reach of Saengo’s candle flame grows faint. I’m ashamed that a part of me is relieved to be alone with my own emotions.

SIX

My cell is a small metal room with a barred door and nothing else, save for old scorch marks that indicate a firewender had been kept here once.