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He did not mind being dismissed. She’d given him the confirmation he’d wanted. It made her own heart sail, to see someone so taken with her—in a way no one else had ever been taken with her. Garth leaned in to kiss her forehead, the softest brush of a kiss she’d ever felt, and then he was walking back down the steps that fed into the alleyway.

“I’ll see you at the opera house,” she called after him.

She’d never seen a man look so delighted with himself. She watched him walk back toward the market. It was a struggle to not go running after him. Before she could retreat back inside, she spied another figure, striding with purpose across the opposite end of the square. It was impossible not to recognize Ren Monroe. The girl kept her head down, trying to be circumspect. Nevelyn watched her make a show of examining the nearest market cart. After a few seconds of eyeing the wares, Ren slipped down the alleyway.

“What are you doing out here?”

Nevelyn frowned. “Am I to be locked away at all hours?”

Ren rolled her eyes before making a shooing gesture. Nevelyn obediently cracked open the door and the two of them vanished inside. There was a satisfying oh sound as her visitor spotted the waiting dress. Nevelyn had already been quite proud of her work, but compliments never hurt.

“Do you think she’ll go for it?” Ren asked.

“Yes. I’ve positioned it well.”

“Good. It’s nearly time. Dahvid’s gauntlet is tonight.”

Nevelyn’s eyes snapped in that direction. “What?! How do you know?”

“My contact in Ravinia,” Ren answered. “It was scheduled for tonight. We’ll have word in the morning about the result.”

Nevelyn couldn’t help it. She slumped into the only chair in the room. Her face fell into her hands. They’d spent so much time working toward this moment. Dahvid was as prepared as he could be. And truly, she believed in his skill. But she still felt a bone-deep fear come over her. What if she lost him, too? The way she’d lost Ware and all the others? If it worked, the other pieces of their plan would snap into place shortly after. If it didn’t work, she’d be without yet another family member, living in a city she barely remembered, with no viable path to taking revenge against the people who’d taken everything from her.

“He’ll win,” Ren Monroe said, breathing hope back into Nevelyn’s mind. “We have to believe that. If he does, will you be ready?”

“Go stand outside the door.”

Ren frowned. “What?”

“Just do it.”

Ren obeyed, slipping out and closing the door behind her. Nevelyn waited for a moment, and then she channeled all her fear and rage and terror into her chest. She let out a scream that could wake the dead. A long and terrible note that shook through the entire room. When she was done, she reached out and opened the door.

“Did you hear that?”

Ren Monroe frowned again. “Hear what?”

“Good. The room is ready. All we have to do now is get the timing right.”

“You’re certain? There’s nothing else you need at the playhouse?”

Nevelyn smiled with satisfaction. “No. I have it all under control.”

“Fine. I won’t be visiting you again. I will send Vega instead. If Dahvid wins, I’ll send her to the corner building. Across the square. That will be the sign to begin your part in the plan.”

Their partner and confidant hesitated.

“I thought… Was there a man just now? Leaving your apartment?”

“A drunk,” Nevelyn confirmed, her face betraying nothing. “He stumbled down the alleyway and took a piss outside my window. This really is a charming place you’ve put me in.”

“Free and charming are rarely bedmates,” Ren answered. “You won’t be here much longer.”

“No,” Nevelyn answered. “Regardless of what might happen, it is not my fate to scrape out a living in a hovel like this. We were meant for more than that.”

Ren quietly crossed the room. She stood in the shadow of the black dress. Nevelyn watched the girl trace the intricate laces with a finger.

“My mother used to tell me that no darkness lasts for long.”