“You don’t have to worry about me,” I whispered. “Besides, it’s only fair I do my share of the work. I can’t ask anyone to go anywhere I’m not willing to go.”

He just looked at me sadly. “I know you have incredible power over noorestones and dragons now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry. I’m not just your protector, Mira. I’m your friend. Never forget that.”

I hugged him as tight as I could, and then Gerel cleared her throat from the doorway. “Are we actually doing this tonight, or are you just going to share feelings until Paorah finds us here?”

I rolled my eyes, but I pulled away from Hristo. “I’ll be careful.”

Together, Chenda, Gerel, and I crept down the stairs and through the lobby. It seemed so mundane. Part of me had wondered if we might rappel out the window, or climb up to the roof and jump from building to building, but of the three of us, Gerel was the only one with any of the necessary skills.

“Excuse me.” Tanhe appeared from behind the desk. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere you need to know about,” said Gerel.

“Martial law is—”

“Are you going to tell anyone?” I lifted an eyebrow.

“If the high magistrate asks—”

“Does the high magistrate come here often?” I asked. “Do his guards usually have reasons to ask questions about your guests?”

He sputtered a little. “No, I— No, of course not.”

I angled my scar away from him, so that he’d only see the Hopebearer, and I offered the kind of warm smile that put even the most nervous of people at ease. “We’re only going to find a couple of friends. After the explosions earlier, we want to make sure they’re safe. This is a safe hotel, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely,” he assured me. “I’ll stay up, of course. And wait for you. In case you need anything. Something to eat or extra toiletries for your friends. Whatever you need.”

Again, I flashed the Hopebearer smile. “Thank you so much for your help,” I said. “And your discretion.”

Then, Gerel, Chenda, and I went through the front door.

“And to think,” Gerel said, keeping her voice low, “you claim you don’t possess Daminan charm. But if I didn’t just witness it there . . .”

I shook my head and smiled. “That’s not charm. Just the Hopebearer effect. No, if you want to see charm, you should see my mother. Even Zara, when she tries.” My throat tightened up at the thought of Mother in the high magistrate’s hands. From here, we could just see the tops of the Red Hall, its noorestones lighting up the gemstones.

“All right,” Chenda said. “Hush, both of you.”

Though only a couple of hours had passed since the explosions, the streets were dark. Empty. Even so, we kept to the side streets and pockets of deepest shadows.

The air smelled wretched, like dust and smoke and a thousand other things I couldn’t fully identify. A deep, fearful part of me wondered if I was smelling the bodies of people who’d died, but I didn’t let that thought finish forming before I squashed it back down. It was too horrible to contemplate.