Hazel-Boy’s mind raced. He would not reveal the merchant’s plan to Raven. But he must find out her intentions. Assure her sincerity. Was she an ally? “My princess, I’ll disappear, but after your mother is safe. How shall we accomplish that?”

Triumph flushed across Raven’s cheeks. “You know there’s only one unguarded route out of here. The river. Your enemy, my friend.”

Hazel-Boy did not understand, but he was relieved that they both had the same destination.

For years, Gold Dust, too, had had the impression that one of these passages must lead to the river that skirted the back of the palace. But she would rather die by the bowstring than be torn to pieces by sharks. Still, she did not dare question the two who led the way, bent on getting her safely out. She allowed herself to be guided toward a branching passage that sloped down and was narrower and darker than the main one. The click-click of rattlers rose above the heat that entered through the portholes. Flanked by two forces that understood each other in a way she did not, she followed the sparkle of Raven’s dagger. The assured steps of the two told her they both knew where they were headed. How well they silently communicated, familiar with the passage—the eunuch, surely, through long years of living with the Shah, and Raven through curiosity, obsession, and fearlessness, which had helped her discover mysteries she was unaware of. This was the same passage she had frequented and had never dared follow the scent of changing seasons that might have led her to the outside.

Raven held her back. “Count to eleven, then step aside.”

Gold Dust did as she was told, marveling at their accurate calculations. She watched Raven and Hazel-Boy stomp on a spot under their feet.

“One!” Raven called, not a drop of moisture disturbing the lucidity of her face.

“Two!” Hazel-Boy heaved, his chest rising and falling with the effort.

A rumble jolted Gold Dust. The ground shifted, creating a quake that shook her whole being. She stared at a cave gaping at her feet. Slabs of wood had been painted to duplicate cobblestones. She descended a narrow flight of stairs. The air was heavy and stifling. Raven’s voice was at her side: “Watch your step. There’s a turn here. Another one here.” Gold Dust collided with a wall, lost her balance. She was being lifted. She surrendered to Hazel-Boy’s arms. He set her down in what she thought was a narrow landing. Her lungs filled with welcome freshness.

Raven measured a wall with her outstretched fingers and pushed on an invisible crack. The groan of shifting boulders startled Gold Dust. The ground under her feet shuddered. Stone and wood and iron ground against each other. Immense iron jaws unlocked to reveal a world she had forgotten.