“Were you just using me to get to my mother? Did you think I’d turn on her and help you instead?”

“Yes!” My heart jolted. “No. No. I wanted your help, yes, but I wasn’t using you. Is it so hard for you to believe I care about you? That I want to help you? You’re my friend!”

“But you don’t love me.”

“No.”

The wind carried the word away. Ericen didn’t say anything, just turned and left through the open tower door. I stared at the spot he’d been standing in, the chill of the evening digging into my bones.

* * *

I didn’t tell Kiva what had happened. I was still processing it myself. There’d been moments since coming to Illucia where I’d wondered if Ericen cared about me more than I wanted to admit. But I’d never thought it would reach this point. Or perhaps I’d only been afraid it would.

By the time midnight came, I’d become a jumble of nerves. We stepped quietly out of the room into the empty hall.

The vial of solution felt like it was burning a hole through my hand as we walked. I held it gingerly as I led the way down the corridors, retracing my steps from the other night, afraid every corner we turned would look unfamiliar. Yet I knew we were heading the right way. The humming called me closer.

Kiva kept a hand on Sinvarra while my free one remained on the string of the bow slung across my chest, ready to pull it free.

The dim glow of the sona lamps melded with the light of a full moon. We moved slowly, checking every corner before we turned, listening intently for any sound. Once or twice, we had to leap into the alcove of a doorway or hurry down a hall to avoid a servant, but otherwise, the corridors stayed quiet.

Adrenaline scurried through my veins like fleeing spiders, slicking my palms with sweat. It grew worse the closer we got, until we rounded the final corner and faced the padlocked door. Even through the iron, magic hummed.

Kiva took up her post at the corner as I approached the door, uncorking the vial. The first drop missed, hissing when it made contact with the stone ground. The next one landed on the metal and began eating through. I added another couple of drops then stepped back, thankful for my gloves as the metal sizzled away.

The bubbling slowed, and I added the last couple of drops to finish the job before corking the vial and tucking it in my pocket. The lock groaned quietly as it split apart, and I caught the pieces in Auma’s scarf before they could fall. Setting them aside, I beckoned for Kiva to join me.

“I take back everything I ever said about Caylus,” she whispered.

I grinned and pulled open the door.