The brightness in her eyes dimmed slightly, and she busied herself with mixing more of the yellowed paste beside me. “You’re in a secret camp, the Viceroy won’t find you here.”
I shook my head, not understanding. How could I be in a camp where the Viceroy couldn’t find me when I’d just been with him? “What sort of camp?”
“The sort where rebels hide.” A voice from behind the girl sounded—hisvoice. “The sort where the rebellion is planned and schemed.”
Kiyan stood at the entrance of the tent, his eyes rimmed with dark circles, his normally precise pearlescent hair mussed and sticking out at odd angles. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
“You’re awake,” he said, stepping farther into the tent. The girl who had been tending to my legs nodded at him, before giving me a bright smile and disappearing through the flap of the door. I nearly called her back, needing some buffer between Kiyan and me.
I released a low breath, both relieved to see him and wary of him.
He worked for the Viceroy, the same man who had just tortured me and set my bones on fire. But he also hunted rebels for him. He’d told Mishah to befriend me, all so he could spy on what I was doing.
“And is this where you help plan the rebellion too?”
He inclined his head.
“Youarea rebel, then.” Something released in my chest, a certainty that was always there. Of course he was. Mishah worked for him, another rebel.
“Yes.”
“I suspected you weren’t all you seemed. I thought you were sympathetic to them. But you hunted them. Youkilledthem. How can you be one of them and do all that?”
“Most I save. Many I prevent further torture to by giving them release. But mainly we needed someone on the inside, close to Reza, whom he trusted.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. What are we doing here, then? Why aren’t you back at the palace?” I had the shame to look away from his gaze, knowing I had been caught running away with the thing he wanted most. I licked my lips, a metallic tang hitting my tongue when I realized they were cracked and bleeding. “Why am I not in the dungeon?”
Kiyan’s mouth pressed into a firm line, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He uncrossed his arms and rubbed the corner of his chin that was rough with stubble. “Reza was torturing you. He might have killed you.” Kiyan hesitated, weighing his words. “I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
I gaped at him. “You rescued me?”
“Don’t seem so shocked.” He gave me a wry smile.
He raked a hand through his hair, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “I had to do something. I couldn’t...” He broke away, looking pointedly to the corner of the tent. “I couldn’t hear your screams anymore. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
My chest swelled, but at the same time a dread seeped into my bones. “You were pretending to work for the Viceroy in order to save your people.” It wasn’t a question, and I wondered why it took me so long to realize it. “And you compromised all that to save me. You shouldn’t have.”
“If you think I had any choice in the matter, you have little comprehension of who you chose to get involved with. Yes, I worked for the Viceroy and pretended to be loyal to him. It was partially to prevent the capture of innocent and rebel soldiers and also to find Queen Azari’s crown and restore the royal family by lifting the curse. Once King Rusul’s crown is destroyed, this... suffocation of our magic will end and we will be able to fight the Court of Salt. We’ll be able to bring Reza to his knees.” His mouth twisted bitterly. “Except he has Queen Azari’s crown now.”
“He won’t be able to find the door to the palace,” I said suddenly. “Not without me.”
Kiyan nodded. “We are counting on that right now. But he will still try and use the combined crowns to level Tirich Mir.”
There was an air between us, even though he’d saved me. He wasn’t quite meeting my eyes, and there was a stiffness in his shoulders.
He was angry.
I blinked, and suddenly it swept over me why.
He knew I had taken the crown.
His only hope of possibly getting his family back. I had stolen it, hidden it. I had kissed him and then left him behind. I wanted to sink into the bed, my guilt weighing me down like roots pulling me toward the ground.
I swallowed thickly, knowing I needed to explain to him, but not sure I even had the words.
“Kiyan, I’m sorry.”
His eyes shot to mine, his face wary. “For what?”
