“And out of all the people in this city, she chooses you. Isn’t that odd?”

I felt my jaw get tight and stubborn. “No.”

“Think, Nirrim. She can cast you into prison with one word.”

So can you, I thought.

Aden said, “What will happen when she tries to make you do something you don’t want to do?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, though I knew exactly what he meant.

“I saw how she looked at you.”

My face flushed again, this time with shame for how much I wished he were right. “You’re mistaken.”

“The High Kith have no morals. All they care about is decadence. Nothing matters except what they want. Wait and see. She will try to use you.”

I want her to, I almost said. Then I saw, as clearly as a god’s prophecy, everything that would happen after. His look of horror, maybe even hate. The disgusted words that would fall from his mouth. I saw how he would see me, which would be how other people would see me, too. It filled me with fear. I reached for him and kissed him hard and deep, my hands in his hair, his chest flat against mine. “Don’t worry,” I murmured into his mouth.

“Of course I worry.” He stroked hair from my face. “You’ll have no one to protect you in the High quarter. If you step out of line with that woman … Nirrim, even if it’s something small—a ribbon crookedly tied, a disobedient look—she can have you punished in ways you can’t even imagine.”

She could have me thrown into prison with the slightest word. Sid, who hedged around questions like they might expose some enormous secret. Sid, who had already shown that she could be unkind, as she had been toward Raven. No soldier, no judge would believe a Half Kith over someone of her status. Cold worry seeped into me.

Aden must have seen it. His expression grew comforting. He touched my lips with one finger. “I have an idea.” He left me and disappeared into another room. He returned with a small paper packet in his hand.

“What is that?” I asked.

“Poison.”

The blood drained from my face. “I’m not going to use that on her.”

“It’s gentle. Whoever takes it will fall into a long sleep and never wake up.”

“Aden, I don’t want this. This isn’t necessary. She is not a threat. You’re acting like she is a villain in a story.”

“And what about the rest of the High Kith? You think you will be safe among them? All of them? Take it, for my sake. So I know you have something to protect you when I can’t be there.”

Uneasily, I slipped the packet into my dress pocket.