A knock came at the door.
"Akwaugo!Akwaugo, are you there?Guards are coming; they say they saw a dangerous man sneaking around the palace and are in search of him."
Ragnar looked at the body at his feet; he grabbed the corpse, hauling it over his shoulder and lunging out the window.The knock came again, more urgently."Akwaugo!"
"Open in the name of the Ugoeze.A man was seen entering this courtyard!"
Azul forced herself upright.The room spun.She bit her lip until it bled, focusing through the pain.
"Akwaugo?"Nkiru sounded terrified."Please answer me!"
"Enter."Her voice came out rough but it was loud enough.
The door opened.
Nkiru rushed in first, her face pale.Behind her, four guards pushed into the room, their eyes sweeping every corner.
"Akwaugo."The lead guard bowed perfunctorily."Your pardon, but we must search.A man was seen—"
"Search to your heart’s content."Every word cost her."Quickly.I'm unwell and wish to rest."
The guards spread out.Checked under the bed.Behind the screens.The storage chest.The window.
"Nothing, sir."
The lead guard frowned, clearly unhappy."The tracks led here…"
"What exactly are you accusing me of?"Azul's eyes locked onto his.Even poisoned, even burning, she was terrifying."Speak plainly or leave."
The guard hesitated, clearly unwilling to just leave and fail at their mission, but what reason would they have to stay?
"Out."
A command came from the doorway.
Somadina stepped into the room, his eyes swept over Azul—the flush on her cheeks, the sweat on her brow, the way she held herself too still—and something flickered in his expression.
"I said out.All of you."
Only at his word did the guards flee.Nkiru looked at Azul, who nodded almost imperceptibly.The girl slipped out, closing the door.
They were alone.
Somadina moved towards her.
"You're ill."His hand reached out, and Azul flinched away—but her body betrayed her, heat pooling where his fingers almost touched."Did you drink too much?"
"I didn't."Her words came out wrong—breathless, weak.She hated it; she hated him.She especially hated how her body responded to his proximity even as her mind screamed danger.
His hand caught her chin and forced her to look at him."You're beautiful like this, helpless."
Something silver glinted in her hand.
In the blink of an eye she'd pulled her hairpin from under her pillow and pressed it against her own thigh, the point breaking skin.Pain flared, dispelling the persistent fog in her mind for a few moments as blood trickled down her skirt.
"I'm not helpless," she said."Take your hand off me."
Somadina's eyes dropped to the pin, to the blood staining her skirt.His jaw clenched as frustration flickered in his gaze.
