“He’s doing better every day,” Naari said quickly, and if she saw the hopeless tears that glistened in Kiva’s eyes, she didn’t bring attention to them. “I’ve only been able to sneak in to see him twice—they’re watching him almost as closely as you. But I cleaned and dressed his wounds, just as I’ve seen you do before. There’s no sign of infection, but Tipp gave me some alderflower petals to make him chew on, just in case. Said they would work with the ballico sap to help keep his blood clean.”

“Good,” Kiva replied in an unfamiliar, choked voice. “That’s good.”

Six days.

She couldn’t believe it.

But still, she made herself get a grip, recalling what Naari had said about only having a few minutes, and tried to prioritize what she needed to know.

“Is Tipp all right?” she asked, despite the guard having just mentioned him.

“He’s fine,” Naari assured her. “He’s worried about you, but I’ve been looking out for him.”

“What about Tilda?”

Naari’s answer was slower in coming, as if she couldn’t believe Kiva was wasting time asking about the Rebel Queen, but she eventually said, “No change.” She paused, then shared further, “Tipp’s guarding her like a watchdog, barely leaving the infirmary so he can stay by her side. He says it’s what you’d have done if you were there, so he’s watching over her in your stead.”

Oh, Tipp, Kiva felt a renewed surge of affection for the young boy, missing him dearly, wishing for just a hint of his effervescence to seep into her dark cell. He wouldn’t need a luminium beacon—he’d light up the space all on his own.

“And the poison?” Kiva asked, unable to wait any longer. “Six days . . . I thought more time had passed, but have you figured it out? I wondered if it might be Cresta at first, but I don’t think she—”

“It’s not Cresta,” Naari said. There was something wrong with her voice. It was too low, too flat, too full of emotion. Anger, disbelief . . . despair.

“So you did figure it out?” Kiva asked, because despite Naari’s strange tone, that in itself was a relief.

“After the quarry,” the guard said, still sounding off, “Olisha sought me out, aware that you and I had grown close. She was angry with you, saying you’d been remiss in your duties as a healer. When she explained about the vials she and Nergal were giving out, it didn’t take much for me to realize what was really in them.” Naari shook her head. “I can’t believe it was happening right under our noses.”

“We had no way to know,” Kiva said, even if she was just as angry with herself.