He spat blood onto the floor as Lina held up a hand, staying Bri from taking another step.

She cocked her head. “What do you know?”

“The assassins,” he panted. “They wear golden masks that look like lions.”

Bri crossed her arms, keeping her dagger in her grip. She toed an empty bottle lying at her feet. “Of course Norwood would choose a lion.”

She’d grown up seeing lions carved into every corner of the Eastern capital of Wynreach; the castle was covered in lions and crashing ocean wave iconography.

“How did they get in the castle that night?” Lina asked.

“They were already there.” Meson huffed a laugh. “Half of them already worked as guards and soldiers of some sort.” Bri’s heart thundered in her chest. “The smart ones fled after that.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I was tasked with procuring something,” he wheezed. “I wasn’t meant to see the lion mask in his bag but I was . . . looking for some coins.” Bri rolled her eyes. “It was his fault for leaving his bag with me!”

Lina leaned against the far wall. “What did he ask you to procure?”

“Seeds,” Meson said, shrugging. “A flower that’s used in perfumes. I . . . I can’t remember the exact name. He gave me a drawing and asked me to pick them up from a trader at the southern port.”

“Seeds?” Lina looked back at Bri. “Do you think that’s how they made the poison?”

“To sow the seeds of rebellion,” Meson whispered, making Bri’s eyebrows shoot up. “This is so much bigger than either of you realize.”

“What else do you know?”

His breath rattled in his throat. “Nothing.”

Bri raised her dagger, making him flinch as she took a pointed step closer.

“Nothing!” he exclaimed frantically. “Just the seeds. I was told to drop them off at a spot in Southside by Maxfeld’s. That’s all I know. I don’t know who they were for.”

“What is the purpose of these seeds?” Bri crouched, surveying her blade.

“I don’t know,” he pleaded. “I try to stay out of it. The less I know, the better. If you were smart, you’d stay out of it too. Keep a low profile until this all blows over, Eagle. The palace isn’t safe right now.”

“A lot of places aren’t safe anymore,” Bri said, her lip curling. “Your home, for example.”

Meson’s throat bobbed. “Is she okay?”

“That’s none of your concern anymore,” Bri snarled.

“Where is she?” He yanked on his restraints, a fire starting to brew within him. How quickly he morphed from a whimpering mess to a wrathful fool.

In two steps, Lina was in front of him, kicking him in the gut. The air whooshed from him as he doubled over with a grunt. “That’s none of your concern either.”