Ren shook her head. “I knew she despised her parents. I knew she resented my rise in station—and the way I treated her. Just like her parents. I used her.”

“You asked her for help,” Akeylah countered. “That’s what friends do.”

“But if I’d realized sooner…”

“It’s no one’s fault but Audrina’s,” Zofi spoke up, voice hard. “Don’t you dare shoulder her crimes. She made the decision to attack us. She could have trusted you, Ren, the way you did her. She could have explained who she was, could’ve asked us to help her confront her parents. She had other options. She ignored them.”

Akeylah’s hand left Ren’s shoulder in a rustle of skirts.

Finally, Ren looked up and found Akeylah eyeing the narrow window, the only one in the room the Talons had selected for them. “We need to go soon,” Akeylah said. “To meet with the council.” She turned her arm over, and only then did Ren notice.

“Sun above.” Ren lifted her own wrist, too. Studied the faint glow along the underside, which matched the mark on Akeylah’s arm, and Zofi’s. It was narrow, thin as a paper cut, but still obvious in color and shine. “How are we going to explain this?”

All three sisters had matching Vulgar Arts scars. Marks from where they’d worked together to shield Audrina.

“Father made an exception for me when I cured him,” Akeylah murmured. “We might be able to argue this was one of those cases. After all, we didn’t hurt her. We were just trying to protect ourselves.”

“So we should be forgiven for performing Vulgar Arts that led to a girl accidentally killing herself in front of half the kingdom?” Ren massaged her scar with a forefinger.

“We could just hide them.” Zofi traced her own scar.

“How long could we conceal something like this?” Ren protested.

“Audrina managed for years.” Zofi ran her tongue across her teeth. “So did my mother. So did Yasmin.”

Ren sighed. “Well, then, how do we explain everything else that just happened?”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Zofi finally looked up from her wrist. “Audrina never revealed your secret, Akeylah. And how many people know what our father accused me of doing, really?”

Akeylah tucked a plait behind her ear. “Captain Lindle, maybe. A few Talons. Rozalind and us. Why?”

“Not like me.” Ren laughed once, bitter. “The whole court—Sun above, the whole of the Reaches know what I’ve done.”

“What you’re accused of doing,” Zofi corrected. “If you ask me, the evidence sounds pretty thin on the ground. Is there actual proof?”

Ren pursed her mouth. “Some forged notes between me and a supposed rebel commander. Audrina wrote them herself.”

“Which should be easy enough to prove, if we can find a sample of her handwriting anywhere else,” Akeylah broke in, catching on.