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“Reckless,” Valdus whispers. “Definitely reckless.”

“It’s not a bad thing if it can get you answers you need.”

Valdus’s glare should have silenced me, but I only lift my chin. “Give me ten minutes. I might loosen up his tongue.” When he doesn’t answer, I add, “What’s the worst that can happen?”

Valdus closes his eyes, and I know I have him.

“You have five,” he says in a rasping murmur. “I hear something I don’t like, I’m marching back in.”

With Rev and I left alone in the room, the silence is so thick I could cut through it. He struggles against the restraints, until finally, his eyes searching for something I’m not sure is still there.

“Have they hurt you?” he finally asks.

I snort. The rebels offered hospitality to me. They tended to my wounds and helped me heal. If someone has hurt me, it was my father and his schemes. Yet I don’t say any of that.

“I swear, I’ll cut them to pieces if they’ve done anything to you,” Rev says. “How did you end up here?”

I can see concern shine in Rev’s eyes, but I don’t know him well enough to be sure that it’s not another ploy played for my benefit.

“Why are you in The Broken Sands?” I finally ask.

“To save you,” Rev answers in a beat. “To return you to Our Sun and Light. To bring The Lost Jewel to her rightful home.”

“The Lost Jewel?”

“The emperor lost his favorite daughter, and he wants her back.”

I have to swallow the rasping ball growing in my throat. My father has taken a permanent residence in my nightmares, as if my mind already knew that I was too foolish to think I could ever escape his reach.

I tuck all these thoughts away. I won’t gain Valdus’s trust if I spend the allotted time asking frivolous questions.

“Among all the towns on the Line Four, why The Broken Sands?”

“I know people who know things. People who talk when they see silvers.” Rev struggles against the restraints with more fervor. “Just help me out of these. I’ll protect you.”

I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cry, so I stare at him doubtfully. For the first time in my life, I feel safe, and it’s in the midst of the rebellion I’ve been taught to fear.

“I’m here to get back on track the plan that was set in motion with your betrothal.” Rev looks over my shoulder, hate making his features sharper than they already are, revealing the truth he tried to conceal. “I’ll do that, no matter the cost.”

“You alone against whatever lies in the next room?”

That tick of his returns to his jaw. “It doesn’t matter how many of them there are. They’ll all die the same.”

His words make my thoughts turn dark, and they must be reflected on my features as Rev says, “Don’t tell me you’ve conspired with the enemy.”

I don’t answer, and only hide my face behind the mask of enameled metal before it can reveal any more of my secrets.

“Princess,” Rev struggles to reclaim my attention, “I promise I’ll do anything to get you out of here.”

“I have to think about it.”

“Think about what?”

About how to get rid of you before it’s too late, I think to myself, my eyes prickling. Instead, I clear my throat and give him an answer he might find acceptable. “About your plan. The odds don’t seem to be in your favor.” As I turn to leave, I add, “I’m sure you understand my motivations. After all, my survival became your priority only once the emperor deemed it worthy.”

I stumble out of the room, my eyes brimming with tears I can no longer hold back.

Someone calls my name. Valdus or Numair. I can’t be sure as my mind buzzes with a hundred unanswered questions.