Kalie wrinkled her nose. “You didn’t actually… did you?”
Mira snickered. “No, he figured out I wasn’t a hooker. Of course, the knife I flashed him might’ve given it away. One of the other guards suggested the name of a sleazy motel, and we went there for a little chat.”
Zane coughed, muttered “interrogation,” and coughed again.
Mira scowled at him. “I can evaluate an asset without resorting to torture. We just talked. He pieced together that I work for the Hannovers. Had to resurrect an old alias—not Solina Hett, don’t worry. She’s just for you, Zane.”
She winked. Zane cracked a smile, and an absurd wave of jealousy burned in Kalie’s chest. But she had no right to that jealousy, not after she’d pushed him away.
She cleared her throat. “How can you be sure he wasn’t lying?”
“Does he have any previous experience working as a spy?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Exactly. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. Trust me, I know when someone’s lying, and Grant’s not skilled enough to outwit me.”
Kalie rubbed her temples. “You’re missing the obvious. His father is at Iliana’s court, and he’s not going to turn on him.”
“His father.” Mira cast her eyes heavenward. “Don’t get him started on his father.”
Zane frowned. “The reunion didn’t go well?”
“What, you think when a parent abandons their kid, the kid’s supposed to welcome them back with open arms? He chose revenge over his infant son. If it was me…” Mira’s lips flattened into a thin line. “Grant stayed for your uncle, not his father. He said when they struck Roth down, he knew it was over, and he couldn’t leave him there undefended. Got emotional and everything. The kid’s like a puppy.”
“That’s how he fooled me.”
“Hannover,” Mira said, in a tone of utter exasperation. “He turned on you to gain Lexington’s trust, so he could pass you information from her court and keep an eye on Roth. Pretty brave, if you ask me.”
Kalie drew her lip between her teeth. Zane, who’d nearly attacked Mylis the day before her coronation, trusted him. And Mira… Kalie glanced at the knife scars on her cheek, the leather jacket peeking into the holo.
She trusted them. If they trusted Mylis, she would have to trust him, too.
Which meant in five days, Dali would fall to Carik.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Kalie rose to her feet. “I’ll send word to our allies and try to expedite the attack. If we can get there first…”
Zane’s leather chair squelched as he straightened. She didn’t have to look at him to know what she would find: narrow-eyed disapproval, a deep scowl pulling at his lips, his bitter recriminations about war on the tip of his tongue. She understood, now, what he feared—and why he feared it.
But for Dali’s people, she had to fight.
“When the time comes, let me know what you need us to do.”
“I will.” Kalie moved to end the call. “Thanks, Mira.”
“Wait, one last thing!” Mira’s jaunty tone sounded like Ariah’s, and her grin looked like trouble. “Grant’s never been in a serious relationship. I doubt he’s ever kissed a girl, and he’s more than a little besotted with you.”
Zane scoffed. “He told you all that?”
“He didn’t say it outright, but it was in his body language.” Mirarolled her eyes. “You should’ve heard him, talking about how he’d never forgotten your dance together at some ball five cycles ago. Fivecycles. I don’t know what you did, Hannover, but you clearly left an impression on him. Said you made him feel seen, whatever that means, and you’d won his loyalty that night.”
But it hadn’t been her, Kalie realized, with a jolt. The woman he remembered, the woman he’d danced with at Uncle Jerran’s ball—Ariah. Nothing more than a memory. Her throat swelled shut, and she drew in a slow, hitching breath.
Zane’s stare burned into her as she muttered, “Not the time.”
“Right, right. Allies to assemble and fleets to fight. Just thought I’d give you something to look forward to when this is over. I think you two?—”
“Goodbye, Mira.”
