“Did you deserve it? Wouldn’t my sister be alive today, had you not come tearing out of her, killing her with your greedy little life? If she hadn’t given birth to you, she would still be mine.”

“It is not my fault I have no mother. You have been punishing me for my own loss.”

“I warned her,” Raven said, looking not at me, but into the past. “I told her she would regret her dalliance. But no. She would have her way. If people would only listen to me, everyone would be better off.”

“Who was he? Who was my father?”

“Nirrim, it is time to uphold your bargain. You have some moral horror, it seems, at helping me build my business. But won’t you, dear girl, do it for your family, now that you know who I am?”

“I always loved you. I always thought of you as family.” Tears spilled onto my cheeks.

“Now, don’t cry. There is no need. Why, I love you, too!”

I pulled away from her. The pearl necklace felt like a thin snake around my throat. I snapped it beneath my twisting grasp. Beads sprinkled the floor.

“How dare you,” Raven said. “After all I’ve done for you.”

I made for the stairs.

“Don’t you leave me,” she called. “If you do, you will never see me again.”

My feet gained speed, rattling down each step. I heard her following behind me.

“You will never know anything more about your mother. How you were born. Who you are! You will be nothing to me. Is that what you want?”

Yes, I thought, and shoved my way out the front door.

The sun had set when I returned to Sid’s home on the hill, and although I had mastered my tears, when I saw her sitting on the steps and how her face eased into gladness to see me, they came rushing back.

“What is it?” She drew me down to sit beside her. Duskwings flurried in the sky like black confetti. I buried my wet face against her. “Tell me,” she said, and I felt the words vibrate through her. “Tell me who has made you like this, and I will kill them.”

I laughed a little, the sound garbled by a sob, because of course Sid would try to lighten the situation by saying something extreme and obviously not meant. But then I pulled away from her to wipe my eyes and saw her hardened face. Her black eyes were cold with fury. “Say that you want me to,” she said.

I had never seen her use her dagger, but I had touched her rangy body. I had felt the muscle that spoke of work despite the luxury she lived in.

Was a queen’s spy trained to kill?

I believed, suddenly and surely, that Sid was ready to make good on her threat.