She kept a hand to the wall as she descended the cellar stairs, a leather satchel in hand. She’d had her suspicions before, though she’d not voiced them. It had taken her writing down every piece of information that had leaked and who might have known to narrow down her suspects. One judicious questioning of a kitchen servant whom she’d immediately dismissed – and she had her answer.

The noise from the kitchens gave way to the cool, oppressive silence of the cellar. Only the crisp turning of pages and the drip, drip, drip of rainwater met her ears. Phalue’s father sat in his cell, reading, his broad shoulders hunched over the tiny desk. He started to cough when he heard her footsteps.

“There’s no need for that,” Ranami said. “Phalue isn’t back yet. It’s me, and I know you’re not sick.” She approached the bars.

“Any news about my daughter?”

Her heart softened a little at the concern in his voice. That was genuine, even if the cough wasn’t. Phalue was right – he was a decent father, if not a good one. “She’s safe and on her way home. It was a near thing, but she’s unharmed.”

The man sagged with relief. “I thought for a while…” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad she’s safe, even if she will no longer speak to me.” His dark eyes studied her, bushy brows drawn low. “Is that what you’re here for? And I am sick – I don’t know who told you otherwise.”

Ranami hefted the pack. “No, that’s not what I’m here for.” She took the keys from her pocket. “I’m here to set you free.”

For a moment, wild hope filled his face. He stood so abruptly his chair nearly fell over. “Did Phalue order this? Has she finally come to her senses?”

“No. I have.”

She might have felt sorry for him, the confusion clear on his face, if she hadn’t known what he’d done. “I don’t understand,” he said. “You never wanted to set me free.”

“You’re right. I didn’t. I was angry – too caught up in wanting you to be punished, in wanting you to pay for what you did to the people of Nephilanu. I’ve had a lot to be angry about. But when I finally let go of that, I started to see things more clearly. I came to understand that leaving you in a cell does nothing. It doesn’t help the people of Nephilanu; it doesn’t help you. You don’t care about what you’ve done. You don’t want to make amends. Instead, you’ve used your position here, your closeness to your daughter, to do harm. You’ve been feeding information to the Shardless Few.”

Phalue’s father scoffed. “That’s absurd.”

“I dismissed your liaison. She admitted to it.”