Eventually Tanvi bathed, dressed in the purple-and-silver chaniya choli Asha had gifted her, and brushed her hair. It wasn’t to impress Venkat, of course, she informed her pretty reflection. It was so he would take her seriously. Then, after forcing her breakfast down, she waited.

The sun rose higher into the sky beyond her window. At last, a knock came at the door, and Tanvi let Venkat in.

She couldn’t believe how relieved she felt at the sight of his familiar face. It made no sense, since he was the one who’d conned her into working for fake bracelets he’d probably made himself—and then stolen away.

“How are you?” he asked, his eyes soft and sincere.

“Bored. It’s awful in here.”

“I figured as much.” Venkat sat down on the floor and motioned for Tanvi to join him. “Asha’s picnic got me thinking.”

She stayed standing. Asha and Venkat, the two people she’d trusted. Suddenly she really needed him to know how much he’d hurt her. “You lied to me.”

Venkat bowed his head. “Tanvi, I’m really sorry about the bracelet. I am. At least let me do this much for you.”

“Do what?”

“I can’t let you out of here, as much as I wish I could.” Tanvi could hear his regret. “But I can at least try to help with the boredom. How would you like to go somewhere?”

“You just said you can’t let me out of here,” she pointed out, suspicious.

“Well, I can’t, not exactly. But it’ll feel like we left the palace.” Venkat set down a pair of rime crystals, one in the shape of a key wreathed in pale green ivy and ice-blue lotuses and the other a matching door. “Ta-da! I just forged these. Want to try them out with me?”

Tanvi thought about that. A chance to escape her cell and forget the last few days? “You mean, like dreams? I’m doing enough of that already.”

“More like lucid dreaming. You know, where you take control of the dream? Except we’d start out that way, and no one else would see us.”

She almost said no. Dreaming by choice felt like chugging a goblet of poison for fun. But . . . “And I’d stay in control?”

“Just like you are now,” Venkat promised.

“Okay,” Tanvi said finally. That part did sound nice. Besides, Venkat already looked so discouraged. “But you’d better take me somewhere really cool.”

“Deal.” Venkat offered her the key. “Ready?”

Tanvi took it. He held up the door, and she turned the key in the lock.