We are exhausted by the time the torches are snuffed. My muscles burn with the satisfaction of having worked hard. As we pass under the portcullis and return to the barracks, Iván whispers in my ear, “I hope we did the right thing by telling them.”

“Me too.”

We settle into a routine: useless forms in the morning with Master Santiago. Fitness exercises or chores in the afternoon. Our unsanctioned class at night before lights out.

After three days of parrying, we all agree to switch to archery for a few days, to keep ourselves fresh and give our bodies a chance to recover. I expect Iván to be good with a bow. When he misses the target over and over, I give him an arch look.

“What?” he says, looking offended. “I’m allowed to be bad at something.”

“But your fingers . . . those calluses . . .”

“These?” He holds them up in the fading light. “Red, I play the viheula.”

“Oh.” I blink up at him. In spite of sharing Traitors’ Corner, in spite of conspiring together on behalf of our prince, there’s still so much I don’t know about him.

“Or rather, I used to play the viheula. I haven’t picked one up since I joined the Guard. My brother talked me out of bringing it as one of my three items. He said I play so badly I’d end up murdered in my sleep by the other recruits.”

I can tell he regrets the joke as soon as it leaves his mouth, remembering the night that Beto and his duckling friends literally tried to do that to me.

“Sorry,” he says.

I lift my chin toward his bow and quiver. “You should be sorry. You’re terrible.”

“You’re not much better!”

I shrug. “Once everyone realized I would never have the height for archery, Hector focused on teaching me how to beat larger opponents. We always thought the biggest danger for me was going to be attacks at close quarters. Rosario is competent with a bow, though. And Mara can put an arrow through the eye of a soaring pigeon.”

Iván frowns. “That might be the level of competence we need. And we might need it soon.”

I’m afraid he’s right.

A few days later, we switch to close quarters combat, and I start teaching everyone how to use elbows, knees, and palms to evade a weapon and subdue an attacker. After that, one of Pedrón’s friends introduces us to basic shield work.

“It’s easy to overuse a shield,” he says. “To rely on it too much. So we’ll go easy until we’re all adept at basic swordsmanship. We will learn it, though, and learn it well. Solid shield work is one of the most effective ways to keep our empress safe.”

True to his word, Itzal encourages us all relentlessly. Whenever someone performs a new skill correctly for the first time, Itzal is there with a smile and a back slap and a “Good job!”