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She shrugged. “Neither have I, but my father is a siren and perhaps that’s why. Regardless, you should be honored I told you. I’ve never told another, and not even Rhett knows.”

My skin tightened. “And why are you telling me?” It could be a desperate ploy to win my approval.

She pointed toward the lower corner of my cape, where the black diamond shards were hidden. “My mother doesn’t tell me much—I’m too softhearted for her taste—but I know she had hidden something in our home, something that you took. It’s bound to…more.I’m not sure what, but it’sbig,whatever it is.And I know there’s a similar object in Lord Tallus’s rooms, which is why, I presume, you’re here.”

If she spoke the truth, she didn’t even know what the black diamond shards were.

I hesitated.

She continued, “Lord Tallus is a far more capable mer than my mother, and his protections will be stronger. Fortunately for you, I’m quite proficient in mer magic. I’ll help, if you’ll allow it.”

“Why should I trust you?”

Her gaze shifted uncomfortably as she searched for a way to make eye contact with a shadow. “I owe my mother and her schemes nothing, but Rhett regards you enough that he hasn’t spoken a word about you to me. I meant what I said earlier: Whatever scheme Rhett has caught himself in, I trust that it’s better than my mother’s.”

“If things with her are as bad as you say, why haven’t you ran away before?”

The question made her pause, and I waited, searching her expression for the truth and only finding embarrassment. Finally, she looked away. “Maybe you’ll think I’m a coward, butI didn’t know where to go. I’ve lived my whole life in the palace and…” She shook her head. “I wasn’t brave enough.”

Throat constricting, I remembered a time when Eleanor and I hadn’t run away from the Starlit Isle either.

Regardless, she risked being a complication in our plan.

The thumping of boots from beyond the courtyard matched the pounding of my heart. A guard approached, and I had to make a decision.Now.

“Fine.” Rudely, I grabbed her shoulder and shadow-stepped us into Lord Tallus’s rooms together.

She flinched at my sudden movement, and once we reached the other side, she staggered, bending over from the shock of the jump. “Quite a way of getting around,” she gasped.

I shrugged unapologetically. “The sooner I have what we want and leave, the better.”

Quickly, I snuck deeper into the apartment, confirming it was empty before dropping my shadows slightly, just enough that she could see me as a figure while obscuring the details of my appearance.

Still, Iona stared at me. “You’re a shadow fae, aren’t you?”

I nodded, hating how much this still gave away. Even if I wasn’t the Shadow Prince, there weren’t many shadow fae remaining.

“But I thought the wards would stop shadow-stepping—”

“Most would be stopped, yes, but not me,” I answered, reluctant to expose more than necessary.

She didn’t question me further, but her lips pursed as if deep in thought. Her gaze flickered over me before homing in on the pocket with the shards.

Wary, I watched her closely as we walked to the back of the suite and neared the writing desk concealing Tallus’s shard. The desk itself was an overwrought design with carved whirls, embedded mirrors, and countless drawers. Sinking intothe Underworld, I confirmed that the black diamond shard remained on the left side of the desk.

I lowered, opening the drawer in question.

“You can see it too?” she asked.

“It’s shadow magic, in a way,” I explained.

I pulled the drawer wide, but the shard didn’t move with it, so I opened the one above, only to have the same result. Annoyed, I stared at the mirror panel fastened between the drawers.

“It’s in the desk itself,” Iona observed.

“Agreed. A false wall, perhaps.”

“No, it’s more than that.”