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Kiva was rubbing her temples by the time she reached the iron grate and lowered herself into the tunnels. Tired and cold, all she wanted was to get to her suite and fall into bed.

But when she finally made it back to her room in the eastern palace, she realized her night wasn’t over yet.

Because Naari was sitting on her bed in the dark, her voice low and lethal as she uttered just two words:

“Nice walk?”

Kiva froze just inside the doorway, her mind blanking at the sight of the guard’s glittering amber eyes.

“You’re lucky the storm cleared,” Naari said, her tone now deceptively courteous. “That would have been an unpleasant journey in the rain.”

“I wasn’t —” Kiva started, deciding to play dumb, but she was interrupted.

“I would think very carefully about your next words if I were you,” Naari warned, rising in one fluid motion, her leather-clad body rippling with fury.

Kiva bit her cheek and stepped further into the room. The moon streamed in from the balcony, the sight peaceful — but not enough to fill her with any sense of calm.

Sighing with resignation, she said, “If you’re going to yell at me, just yell at me.”

Naari’s eyes narrowed. “And why would I yell at you, Kiva? What part of tonight would I be angry about?”

Wisdom told Kiva to hold her tongue.

“Do you have any idea how badly things could have gone?” the guard demanded. “If I hadn’t seen you and Jaren sneaking out of the palace —”

Kiva winced, realizingthatwas how she’d been discovered, right from the very beginning.

“— and if I hadn’t raised the alarm with Veris and told him where I assumed you were heading —” Naari paused her tirade to snap, “Don’t look at me like that, do you really think the person who gave Jaren that lead didn’t know he’d act on it, and therefore made sure I had the details, too? Please.”

Kiva swore quietly, realizing that of course Eidran would have told Naari. The two guards had planned the Zalindov mission with Jaren — they were as close as anyone could be.

“I honestly don’t know if I’m more furious at Jaren for being a reckless, obstinate fool, or at you for following him instead of stopping him,” Naari stated, scowling fiercely. “Why in the name of the gods did you sneak after him, Kiva?That’sthe part I can’t figure out.”

Kiva rubbed her arms in an attempt to stall, her mind scrambling for a believable excuse.

“Well?” Naari demanded.

“If you saw the crown prince slinking around like he wanted to avoid notice, wouldn’t you be curious?” Kiva asked, turning the question around on her.

“I wouldn’t follow him halfway across the city.”

Kiva decided not to point out that Naari had done exactly that. Instead, she drew emotion into her voice and said, “He hasn’t been sleeping well, ever since Zalindov. I was worried about him.”

“Which one is it?” Naari asked, evidently not buying it. “You were worried, or you were curious?”

“Both,” Kiva said, cursing her slow, tired mind. “I followed him because I wanted to be there for him, if he needed me. I had no idea what we’d be walking into.”

“And when you figured it out — you know, when there wereswordsandscreaming,” Naari said with clear sarcasm, “you didn’t think to reveal yourself and return to the palace with us?”

Kiva forced a contrite expression onto her face. “I didn’t want Jaren knowing I’d followed him. How would I explain that?”

“How, indeed.”

At that point, Kiva asked, with genuine trepidation, “Did you tell him?”

Naari stared at Kiva for a long moment, as if trying to gauge whether or not she was truly innocent. Finally, she exhaled loudly and said, “No. After he and I had strong words about his actions, I returned him to his quarters and came straight here to wait for you. He has no idea you were at the Red House or that you saw what happened.”

“WhatdidI see?” Kiva asked, adopting a guileless look. “Who were those people that attacked him?”