She’d forgotten about that. “I still have one more dose of antidote. I can’t run.”

Flick looked like he was mulling over his words. “I suppose we have enough troubles already that we don’t need to be tossing blame at each other,” he said.

A weight lifted off of her at those words. Kyra looked at him, and the forgiveness in his eyes made her want to burst into tears again. “No, you were right. I should’ve listened to you. I’m…sorry.” The words felt woefully inadequate. “I was stupid. It was just maps and trade schedules at first, and I wanted to prove myself. It’s no excuse.”

Again, they sat in silence. Through the window, Kyra could hear the murmurs of refugees in the Palace courtyard.

Finally, Flick spoke again. “How much do you remember from your gutter-rat days?”

“Not much,” she said dully.

“Do you remember back before you were climbing buildings? You weren’t that great at it when we met.”

“No.” She was in no mood to reminisce. “I guess I didn’t have any reason to be.”

“But once you started, you loved it. Every time I saw you, you’d scamper up something higher and more dangerous. I was plumb sure you’d be dead within the year. You did have your falls. There’s probably still some merchants who’ve not forgiven you for destroying their stalls with your antics.”

Kyra smiled despite herself. Flick put his arm over her shoulders, and she let him pull her close, leaning her head on his shoulder as she had when they’d kept warm together as children. “It’s strange,” Flick continued. “It’s not like you’re the only lass to make mistakes. We all did. You just manage to do it in a grander fashion. Maybe it’s because you climb so much higher than the rest of us.”

Kyra chuckled bitterly. “So I’m more gifted than your usual gutter rat—I ruin other people’s lives, not just my own. James told me to let go of my delusions of moral superiority. Maybe he’s right.”

“Do you really believe that, Kyra?”

“I don’t know.”

Flick sighed. “Kyra, think about it. If James really believed you were like him, would he have gone to the trouble of threatening you or hiring someone to kill you? He’s scared of you, Kyra. He might have tricked you into helping him once, but you’re a danger to him. He knows you’re not his puppet anymore.”

Kyra felt a rush of blood to her face as she considered Flick’s words. James had lied to her and tried to turn her into something she wasn’t. And now he’d taken Bella. Even if she didn’t know anything else about herself, Kyra knew that Flick was right. She wasn’t James’s puppet anymore.

She jumped to her feet. “Let’s go back.”