“I feel like I might have just been used,” he said with amusement. “But I don’t think I mind.” It was a fair point, considering my earlier talk about not knowing where we stood.

A knock at the door interrupted any response I might have made. Dorian groaned and nuzzled against my breast. “Ignore it.”

The knock sounded again, this time more urgently. When the knock digressed to what was obviously kicking at the door, I suggested that maybe Dorian should answer it after all.

“I don’t think that’s a servant,” I said. “And hey, at least they waited until after we were done.”

With a sigh, he got up and put the robe back on. I managed to do the same with my dress as he walked to the door, though anyone with a sharp eye would guess what had been going on. At least the gentry didn’t judge much.

“Well, well,” he said when he opened the door. “Very unexpected.”

Jasmine and Ansonia stood there. Ansonia’s face looked as scared as before, but it was Jasmine’s that truly alarmed me. She was so pale, so terribly distraught that I thought she was going to pass out. I jumped up and hurried over to them.

“For God’s sake, sit down,” I exclaimed. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?” There was no water in sight, so I poured two glasses of wine, figuring underage drinking was better than nothing.

Jasmine took a sip, though hardly seemed aware of it. There was a robotic quality to her.

“What’s the matter?” I repeated. “Jasmine, talk to me. One of you, say something!”

“I’ll send for a healer,” said Dorian.

That seemed to wake Jasmine up. “No, wait. That’s not—that’s not the problem. I’m just ...” She shook her head and drank more wine. “I don’t know what to think. Ansonia, tell them. You have to tell them.”

Ansonia regarded us with big scared eyes that were a lovely shade of gray-blue, almost the same as Jasmine’s. “Do you know where Pagiel is?” I asked hopefully.

Ansonia shook her head. Her hands trembled so much that I thought she’d spill the wine, so I took the glass from her.

“You have to tell them,” Jasmine urged. “They have to know.”

Ansonia opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. A few moments later, she tried again. “A ... a few days ago, I overheard Mother and Grandmother talking at night. They thought I was asleep. They—they were talking about Pagiel and his raids.”

“Damn it,” I muttered. “They do know where he is.”