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“Exactly.” Shan looked to Samuel. “There is no time to waste.”

“Right.” He passed the lamp to Alessi, who took it questioningly, but his attention was entirely on Shan. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere safe.” She turned quickly, striding across the sand, knowing that Samuel would be one step behind her.

It wasn’t long before she had gotten him away from the crime scene, not all the way fully back towards the noble district, but the streets were quiet enough. Pulling him into an alley, she spun to face him. “What do you know?”

Samuel didn’t meet her eyes, staring instead at the cobblestoned street, dragging the toe of his boot along it. “There are a few things I haven’t told you.”

“Clearly. You gamble, for one.”

He winced. “Just the one time. Anton took me.”

Shan took a step back. “Anton took you?”

“Yes.” Samuel still kept his gaze low. “I had—it wasn’t important, but I wanted to stop by to see you. But I found Anton instead. He let me know that Isaac was already there, and I was too late. So instead he took me to the Fox Den.”

Shan just gaped at him. She had no idea that he had tried to reach her that night—her brother had said nothing of this. But the knowledge that he had wanted her, and had not been able to find her, cut her like a knife.

“Samuel, you could have—”

“No, I really couldn’t,” he said. “It would have been selfish of me, and I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt whatever moment the two of you were having. But that’s beside the point.”

Though it hurt her in ways she never had imagined being hurt before, she held her tongue. “Right. So, Anton. I didn’t realize that you two were that close.”

“We’re not,” Samuel replied, “at least I don’t think we are. But this isn’t the first time he’s come to me.” He hurried into the tale, of Anton accosting him at his home, of Anton arranging something behind her back, of wanting Samuel’s aid but judging him lacking.

And Shan remained silent through it all, as the pieces started falling into place. Her brother had been growing angrier and more secretive by the year, and she had thought it was merely the ever-growing strain of living under their father. For all the plans she had made, she had just assumed that he would be with her.

But she had never once asked him if he was.

“I am a fool.”

“You’re not,” Samuel said, quickly. “It could be nothing at all.”

They both knew it was a lie, but Shan didn’t press it. She just allowed herself to lean into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. There was nothing forward about it, nothing demanding—just comfort, freely given.

Shan felt like she was breaking apart.

She stepped away, though the loss of his touch was like a physical ache. “You should go. There are some things I need to do.”

“You shouldn’t do this alone.”

“I have to.” She dashed away the tears that threatened. She would not be weak—she could not be weak. “I owe it to my brother.”

“Okay…” He brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. “Just be careful.”

“You, too,” she whispered, and then slipped out into the night, leaving him alone in the alleyway. She had to start moving before she broke down completely.

Samuel’s fears were justified, but it had to be something else. Her brother might be playing something behind her back, but he wouldn’t dare do this.

She had to hold onto that.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Samuel

Samuel stared after Shan as she vanished into the night, wishing more than anything that he could go with her. But she was right about this—whatever was going on between her and her brother was personal, and if she needed time to process it, he could at least grant her that. Forcing his presence on her would only make things worse.