And here my breath leaves me. I’d wondered the same thing. “I don’t know. I suppose I just couldn’t do it.”

And finally she falls silent. The urgency of our situation presses upon me once again, and I look around for something to use as a rope.

Mehtap’s voice is sad when she speaks again. “If you’re trying to tie me up, I have cords in my room,” she says. “Or you could trust me, and I could help you.”

I falter at her words. “Why should I trust you?”

“You didn’t tell my father, and so I am indebted to you.” She lets out a frustrated breath. “Do you think I care whether you’re loyal to Ampara? Swear to me that you won’t hurt my father, and I’ll show you how to get into the palace, where Dineas is imprisoned.”

Given what she’s done, I’ve no reason to doubt her lack of patriotism. Still, I can’t make that promise. “There’s to be a war, Mehtap. People will die on both sides.”

“Yes, I know what happens in war,” she snaps. I wonder if she’s guessed my role in the Shidadi ambush, and if she blames me for it. “But swear on your Goddess you won’t raise your hand against my father, or let your friend Dineas harm him. Promise me that you’ll leave the city as soon as you can.”

“And why would you trust me to keep my promises?”

Mehtap lets out a sad laugh. “You’re the only friend I had in here,” she says. “I must trust you, otherwise I have nothing else to hope for.”

I stare at her, and something twists within me.

“I haven’t screamed for the guards yet, have I?” she says quietly.

She falls silent, eyes fixed on Diadem as she awaits my response. And I realize that I understand what she means. It might not be the wisest thing to accept her help, but it is as she said. We were friends during my brief stay in the rosemarked compound. And if I can’t believe that bond was real, then I don’t know what else I could trust.

“I swear on the honor of my Goddess,” I say. “If I can get to Dineas, we will leave the city. And I won’t harm your father, nor will I allow Dineas to do so.”

There’s a space of one breath, and Mehtap nods. “Come with me to my room.”

When I don’t move, she lets out a huff. “By the gods, Zivah. Put that snake on me if you must.”

In the end, I don’t put Diadem on her, though I stay close to Mehtap as we file silently down the corridor. Once we’re in her bedroom, I close the door and lock it.