Ren frowned. That couldn’t be right. They must be confused. Unless her father’s health had improved. Could Zofi have found a cure for the curse already?

Ren squinted at the flicker of the torchlight under the door as the Talons shifted topics. For a while, they talked about girls, then complained about their commanding officer. Finally, Ren levered herself up off the floor and retreated to bed, where she stared at her canopy instead.

At some point, she must have drifted off, because she awoke to a series of knocks.

“My lady, a visitor,” called the Talon outside the main entrance.

“One moment,” she cried, and did her best to put on a presentable outfit. She might be a prisoner in her own bedroom, but that didn’t mean she needed to look the part.

Finally, when she was satisfied with the girl in the mirror, chin-length hair hot-combed into obedience and a few daubs of paint to cover the worst of her sleepless night’s damage, she threw on an ornate robe and sat at her writing desk to give the illusion of productivity.

“Send them in.” She expected her sister, or perhaps Rozalind, come to relay news of Andros. Maybe even Andros himself, if the Talons’ whispers were to be believed.

But when the doors opened, she slumped in her chair. “Oh, it’s you.”

Danton pushed back his hood and shut the door before he responded. “You always know how to make a man feel special, Florencia.”

“I do when he is.” She leaned her chair back onto two legs and studied the ambassador. The morning sun painted deep hollows under his cheeks, and in profile, his nose looked sharper, fiercer. “You shouldn’t be here. Haven’t you heard what I’ve been accused of doing? Aiding rebels within the Reach you represent.”

“All the more reason for me to meet with you and glean any information I can about said rebel correspondents. At least, that’s the reason I’ve given the council.” His face clouded. “Florencia, seeing you locked in here, hearing the rumors… I’m afraid for you. If this goes to trial.…” His voice cracked. “I can’t lose you.”

He meant it. She knew him that well. Recognized the pain and fear in his expression.

But it didn’t change what he’d done. She still remembered how it felt at the Sun’s Ascendance when Lexana slipped her arm through his and called him her fiancé. Just two days after Danton had lain in Ren’s bed all night, his lips tracing a familiar path across her body.

“I’m sure your fiancée would soothe away your pain,” she replied, unable to keep the bitterness from her tone.

Danton moved closer. “Florencia, I’ve been trying to catch you alone since the Sun’s Ascendance, to tell you the truth. Lexana and I, it’s a sham.”