Rooke stepped toward him and reached for his hand, reading the metal band around his wrist. “D24L103. You’re new.”

“I’ve been here nearly two months,” Jaren said. He held the Warden’s sharp eyes as he added, “Long enough to know who’s worth saving.”

Kiva felt his words burrow into her while also willing him to shut up, knowing that anything he said would only make things worse. The Warden had warned her. He’d been very clear that any interference this time would result in punishment.

Jaren had saved her life. She couldn’t allow him to lose his in return.

“I asked him to do it,” she blurted.

Jaren’s head whipped toward her. “No, Kiva, don’t—”

“He got hurt, and I helped him, so he thought he owed me,” Kiva said quickly, the lies falling from her lips. She faltered slightly when she saw Naari at the edge of her vision, the guard’s face pale as she watched in dismay. But Kiva rallied and continued, “He told me he used to dive in the lake near his house, said he could hold his breath for a long time. We agreed that he’d jump in after I’d been down for a while, and he’d breathe his air into my lungs, helping me survive longer. It’s my fault, not his. My idea.”

“Kiva—”

“Enough!” Rooke interrupted Jaren, a single, barked word. He stepped closer to Kiva and in a low, threatening voice, said, “I tried to protect you, but I can’t save you from yourself. Not anymore.”

Before she could process the Warden’s words, he jerked his chin at the guard behind her. Her tunic was released, and for a single relief-filled moment, she thought she was free. But then a sharp pain erupted from the back of her head.

The last thing Kiva heard was Jaren yelling her name as she crumpled to the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Kiva awoke, her head was pounding, and there was a stubborn, piercing ache at the base of her skull.

She opened her eyes with effort, the space around her dark and blurry from her spinning vision. She tried to sit up, but it took three attempts before she was no longer lying flat on the cold stone floor.

“Ow,” she moaned to herself, pressing a hand to her head.

Steadying her breathing, she sought to clear her mind, to figure out where she was, and why.

Adrenaline slammed into her when she remembered.

The water Ordeal.

Drowning.

Jaren saving her life.

With magic.

Rooke.

Then nothing.