There was a brief silence. “I am pleased to hear it.” Her voice was softer. “All will be well. We will have this tower all to ourselves soon. You can make good on your vow to me.”

She was insane. How could she go from hitting him to making that kind of overture?

“Am I to understand,” Warden said, “that 40’s time has run out?”

I stayed absolutely still, listening.

“She is ready. I know she took possession of 12 in the citadel. Your cousin told me.” She ran her finger under his chin. “You have nurtured her gift well.”

“For you, my sovereign.” He looked up at her. “Will you claim her in the shadows? Or will you show all of Scion your great power?”

“Either will suffice. At last I will have the ability to dreamwalk. At last I will have the power to invade, to possess. All thanks to you, my beloved Arcturus.” She placed a small vial on the mantelpiece, and her voice grew cold again. “This will be your last dose of amaranth until the Bicentenary. I believe you need time to reflect on your scars. To remember why you should look to the future. Not to the past.”

“I will suffer whatever you ask of me.”

“You will not have to suffer for long. Soon we will have our bliss.” She turned toward the door. “Take care of her, Arcturus.”

The door closed.

Warden stood. For a moment I wasn’t sure what he would do. Then he threw out a fist and smashed the glass urn on the mantelpiece. I went to my bed and listened to the silence.

He wasn’t my enemy. Not the enemy I’d thought he was.

She’d said she would send him back to the House. Proof that he was involved in Bone Season XVIII. Proof of his betrayal. That was what Thuban had meant when he’d threatened Terebell. They’d tried to help us and been punished for it. They’d chosen the wrong side. The losing side.

I tossed and turned for hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation. How she hit him. How she brought him to his knees. And how soon, very soon, she intended to get rid of me. I kicked the sheets off and lay in the dark with my eyes open. The realization had taken a long time, but now I understood. Warden was on my side.

I thought of the scars on Terebell’s back, the ones Thuban Sargas had mentioned with that hint of cruelty. He and his family had scarred her. She and Warden were the scarred ones. Something terrible had happened in the House after that day, Novembertide of 2039. I didn’t know Terebell, but she had saved my life; I owed her. And I owed Warden for taking care of me.