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“We’ll say that Taly’s unwell. Any human would need rest after such a harrowing ordeal.”

“And how long can we play that card? Hmm? This is going to happen one way or the other. I say we get it over with.”

Taly slid into the chair beside Sarina. Skye stood off to the side. Ivain explained to them, “We received an invitation. Kalahad Brenin is hosting a dinner in Taly’s honor.”

Taly’s brows flicked up. “Why?” she asked. Not that she wasn’t something to celebrate, but nobility didn’t usually throw parties for humans.

Everyone in the room shared a look. “Who’s going to tell her?” Skye asked.

“Tell me what?” But nobody volunteered. “Oh Shards, I’m going to hate this aren’t I?”

Ivain sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it. Bunch of cowards…” He sat up straighter, as if bracing himself. “Taly, the call you made from Vale saved a lot of lives. And, thanks to the audio getting leaked, it got a lot of attention. Then someone made the link that it was you manning the flashcannon in Ebondrift, and, well… you’ve become somewhat of a local hero.”

“To say the least,” Skye murmured.

“It’s the reason Kalahad loaned us his mages,” Ivain said. “I assume this dinner is his way of showing you off. Like a prize.”

Taly blinked. “Are you… You’re being serious right now.”

“They call you the Savior of Ebondrift,” Skye said.

She laughed. Because that’s what you did when people started saying things that were crazy.

Her.A hero?It was absurd.

“The dinner is set for Solnar’s eve,” Sarina said, drawing the conversation back to the topic and leaving Taly to mullover her newfound celebrity in silence. “Every notable figure in town is on the guest list, and sources tell me most have already confirmed. If we back out now, we deprive him of his guest of honor.”

“Oh, we wouldn’t want to do that,” Ivain grumbled. “Excuse me if I’m not jumping to put our daughter in the crosshairs just so Brenin can make a show of groveling. That’s what this is all about. He’s trying to get ahead of the fallout once it goes public that his mages attempted an assassination on the heir of Ghislain.”

Sarina leaned forward. “Don’t beblind,” she growled. “We’re responsible for the lives ofthreeof Kalahad’s mages. I don’t care if they betrayed us. You know the way rumors spread, Ivain. We need to be there to control the narrative. If we aren’t, people will speculate, and speculation will turn into facts faster than you can blink. If we’re present, we can manage what people think. We can show strength, gratitude, and whatever else we need them to see. Don’t forget,this, helping us—it was always a power play for him. Either he was the hero who brought back the Savior of Ebondrift or, barring that, the victim whose precious resources were wasted on a fool’s errand endorsed by a feckless leader. He wins either way.”

“Or maybe he was just looking for Taly,” Skye suggested. Ivain pointed, as if to say,see. Taly got the sense they were starting to loop around in their own argument. “I’m sorry, Sarina—I know you’ve already started plotting. But do we really still believe that Kalahad is innocent in all this? He sent Vaughn to capture her, and now that he’s failed, he’s stepping in himself. If we do this, we’ll be taking her right to him.”

“It’s a possibility,” Sarina conceded. “Probable even. And all the more reason to go. Let’s say he is a part of this. Let’s say he’s the leader of the whole damn cabal. That means he has information that he may or may not choose to leverage againstus, depending on how willing we are to play along. Ivain, how quickly would this city fall if it came out that you were harboring a time mage?”

It wasn’t meant as an accusation, but the words landed like a stone in the pit of Taly’s stomach. Sarina was right. If the wrong people found out what she was, everything could fall apart.

How many lives would crumble because of her? How many innocent bystanders would pay for the crime of her existence?

“I’ll go,” she said.

“No, you won’t,” Skye countered immediately. “We’re not going to dangle you in front of the enemy just to keep up appearances.”

“Don’t tell me what to fucking do,” Taly snapped. “I’ll go.”

“Language,” Sarina murmured, defeated.

To be clear, Taly hated parties. The worst part of summer was the sudden influx of mainland nobility and the flimsy excuse for a social season Sarina had managed to scrape together over the years.

However… “If being there helps, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll go.”

“Taly, you have to understand—” Ivain began.

“I know,” she said. “He’s going to parade me around like some new favorite toy.”

“Or kidnap you,” Skye interjected. Taly rolled her eyes. “This isn’t some clambake or beach bonfire with the Valehursts, Taly. It’s the Dawn Court. They aren’t here to drink and laugh—they’re here to watch, to calculate, to find weaknesses.”

“We’ll be in a guarded townhouse in the middle of the city with you and Ivain both in the same room,” Taly shot back. “Idareanyone to try something.”