Aria blinked hard, willing herself not to think about this now.

“Where’s our coffee, Hess?” she said as she pulled herself onto the cot and rested her arm on her lap. “Our little table along the Grand Canal?”

Hess crossed his arms and ignored her comment. “Soren said you wanted to see me. And he mentioned that you’re injured. I’ve brought someone to take a look at you. I have a doctor waiting outside.”

Between her time with Perry and then Loran, she had almost forgotten about the pain. Now the ache came back, originating at her bicep and rolling up her arm. “I don’t want any favors from you.”

Aria silently cursed herself. This was no time to be principled. He was crooked and heartless, but she could’ve used help for her arm. At least the pain seemed to be fading, she noticed.

Hess’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Suit yourself.” He went to a rolling chair that sat by the door and pushed it in front of Aria’s cot. Then he sat, propping his arms on his legs, and stared up at her from his lower position. Burly like Soren, he seemed to engulf the small chair.

As Aria waited for him to speak, she forced her mind to clear. He had a motive for bringing her there, but she had her own motives too. He was their best chance of escaping. Since Hess never did any favors, she’d need to convince him that helping her was in his best interest. Pushing Loran as far out of her thoughts as possible, she focused on her goal.

“I’ve dedicated my life to keeping Reverie and its citizens safe,” Hess said. “But I never expected that we would come to this. I never anticipated that I’d have to leave so many people behind. That I’d need to leave my own son. But I saw no other way. Soren wouldn’t budge, and I had no other recourse. I created a rift between us because of the actions I was forced to take. Perhaps you also suffered as a result of my decisions.”

He apologized just like Soren, vaguely, lacking any real admission of wrongdoing—a politician’s apology—but his back was rigid, and the muscles in his neck seemed ready to snap. Real regret existed inside him somewhere. Maybe even a heart.

Aria nodded and tried to look touched by what he’d just said. He was moving in the direction she wanted; she couldn’t afford to be picky.

“I can bring you on, Aria. I’m sure Soren told you. When Cinder is strong enough, and compliant, you can cross to the Still Blue with us. But I can’t accommodate your friend.”

“Peregrine?”

Hess shook his head. “No, he is a certainty. He will come. He’s essential because of his connection to the boy.”

“You mean Roar,” she said. “You can’t take Roar.”