We end up on the riverbank, as if our feet carried us there by habit. But it’s too cold to peel off our boots and sink our feet into the water. So we sit in the grass, bundled in our warm cloaks.

Ami nudges my shoulder gently with her own. “What are you thinking?”

Finally an honest question. She must sense the time slipping away too, like water held in cupped hands, seeping through our fingers no matter how desperately we try to hold on.

So I give her an honest answer. “I’m just wishing I weren’t such a coward.”

She turns to me, her eyes wide with surprise. “Why would you say that?”

I run my hands over the grass, letting the blades slide between my fingers. “I’m scared all the time, Ami.”

She’s quiet for a moment. “Of what?”

I sigh. There are so many answers to that question. “What if the Grand Council finds out my mother illegally trained me? Her reputation will be ruined.” I bite my lip. “Or they could punish me.”

“Everything will be fine,” Ami says. “They have no way of knowing unless you tell them.”

I give her a pointed look. “Yes, they do.”

“Saskia!” Ami looks stricken. “I would never betray your trust like that.”

I roll my eyes and tug her dark, glossy braid playfully. “Not you. My mastery tattoo.”

But an uncomfortable realization uncoils in my chest. Ami isn’t the only one who knows I’ve used unbound magic. My fingers clench around a fistful of grass.

“No one is going to examine you for unexpected tattoos,” Ami says, interrupting my thoughts. She’s right. Tattoos are considered deeply personal, and it’s rude to ask about them.

A relieved breath sags out of me. “I worried my trainer might, as a way to gauge my progress.”

A shadow falls over Ami’s face. “Oh.”

“Has Oskar asked about your mastery tattoo?”

Her hand closes around mine. “Not right at first. But yes, eventually.” She squeezes my fingers. “Don’t worry, though. By the time anyone asks, you will have been bound to bone charming long enough that no one will be suspicious. Just make sure to keep it hidden until then.”

I’m suddenly grateful the weather has shifted. It won’t be unusual for me to wear long sleeves until spring, and by then my mastery tattoo will no longer be incriminating.

“Bram knows too,” I say softly.

Her mouth falls open. “About the tattoo?”

“No, but he knows I used unbound magic. I did a bone reading in front of him last spring after my mother died. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

For the first time, Ami’s expression mirrors the tumult raging in my chest.

“Will he say anything?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I’d like to think he won’t, but he’s not the same person in this reality. Latham was mentoring him.”