“Remember—nothing rash, Eugenie,” said Dorian, far too cheerful for someone whose face was swelling rapidly. “I can take as much pain as I can dole out—and you certainly know how much I can dole out. Don’t worry about me.”

Again, I caught the message to carry out the other plans with caution. There was also, I suspected, a joke in there about some of Dorian’s sexual preferences, which tended to run toward BDSM. I had little appreciation for the weak attempt at humor just now, however. It took every ounce of strength I had to remain hard and impassive to Varia. Otherwise, there was a good chance I’d fall to my knees and beg for Dorian’s release.

“I’m not swearing any loyalty to you,” I told her. “And I’m not going to use the Iron Crown on your behalf. That answer’s not going to change.”

“Suit yourself,” she said. “We’ll see what you say later today.” She gave us a wave of dismissal. “Take them to their respective locations.”

I wasn’t able to exchange another word with Dorian because we were both hurried out too quickly. The urge to unleash a storm surged within me one last time, and I again fought it back. I would do this right. So, I allowed my escort to take me back to my cell on the third floor. They again gave me the faux courtesy of removing my chains before locking the door. Glancing around, I saw that someone had left a covered meal tray on my palette. I lifted the lid and found a piece of bread and some water—and a rat that quickly darted off the tray. Talk about adding insult to injury.

“Oh,” I said. “That’s just lovely.”

Yet, before I finished speaking, I noticed something weird about the rat—mainly, that it wasn’t actually a rat. Instead, it was a rat-sized miniature red fox. I caught my breath.

“No way. Kiyo?”

The rat-fox scurried to the center of my cell. Within moments, he transformed, and I had a full-sized Kiyo standing before me. I cast a wary look behind me, half expecting guards to come busting in. Then, I had to remind myself that his kitsune magic would not be readily detectable to gentry.

“How’d you do that?” I asked Kiyo. “Did a mad scientist give you a shrink ray?”

He smiled, but his eyes looked tired. “Afraid not. It’s just another variation on the shape-shifting, just like I can turn into a super-sized fox. I’ve just never had much reason for the small size. Turns out it’s terribly convenient for poking around a palace.”

“I thought you were a rat,” I admitted.

“So did one of the cooks in the kitchen. I have a new respect for brooms.”

“Is that how you guys escaped? Where’s everyone else? Are they okay?”