Another crack in the doorway had Kiva leaning toward it once again. It felt like only minutes since her food had been delivered, and she wondered if perhaps she was starting to go mad, since time was becoming so distorted. Had she eaten the meal? She couldn’t remember the taste of it, couldn’t even remember reaching for it. But Kiva didn’t let that trouble her, instead turning full-bodied to the light, basking in the momentary comfort it offered, knowing it would be gone again in seconds.

Only, it wasn’t.

“Thank the everworld, you’re alive.”

Kiva was sure she must be dreaming, that the bobbing luminium beacon entering the cell and lighting up the space must be a hallucination, along with the person who held it.

“Naari?” Kiva rasped. Or she tried to. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d spoken, and the word struggled to leave her lips.

The stone door closed to within an inch of sealing, leaving only the slightest of cracks, but the light remained. Kiva blinked furiously, her eyes fighting to adjust after having seen nothing but darkness for so long.

“We only have a few minutes,” the guard said, sliding down to sit in the cramped space. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

Kiva reached out to touch her, still not believing she was really there, but when her fingers met solid flesh, a relieved whimper escaped her lips.

“You’re real,” Kiva whispered. “You’re real.”

“Are you hurt?” Naari asked. “Have they done anything to you?”

Kiva’s mind was foggy, her disbelief still so strong. But Naari was before her, someone who could answer her questions, so she pulled herself together.

“Is Jaren—have you seen him? Is he all right?” Kiva asked, instead of answering.

“He’s . . . healing,” Naari said.

“Healing?” Kiva’s heart rate accelerated. “What did they do to him?”

The luminium beacon revealed Naari’s puzzlement. “He said you were there. That they made you watch.”

“I saw the Butcher whipping him, but that was weeks ago. Longer. When we first arrived,” Kiva said, swallowing back the memories. “Have they— Have they hurt him again? Is someone treating his wounds?”

She hated the idea that he was being punished over and over, all because he’d saved her life.

“Weeks?” Naari repeated, sounding even more confused. But then she looked around the small, dark cell, seeing that the only light source was what she’d brought with her, and her face cleared with understanding. And then flooded with pity. Her tone was careful, wary, even concerned as she said, “Kiva, you’ve only been in here for six days.”

All the air rushed out of Kiva. “Six—”

Six days.

She’d only been locked away for six days?

It had felt like a lifetime.

Two lifetimes.

How could so little time have passed?