Page 56 of A Dance of Lies

“Vasalie, no one comes here without a full registration. If she’s caught, you and I would lose our positions, maybe more . . .”

“I know. But I . . . I trust her with my life.” I squeeze his arm. “She needs this as much as we do.”

I’m filth. Lower than filth.

But I have to do this to survive. I have to. I force the reasoning down my throat, but it keeps inching back up.

“And she’s where?” he asks.

Dear heart,I beg.Please grow cold.

“Philam.” It’s the town closest to Anell, merely a boat ride away. Laurent runs a hand over his face. “I suppose if she stays in your room . . .”

“We could keep her out of sight,” I say. “And we will be careful. The only issue is . . . well, Copelan. Since he’s keeping an eye on me and all.”

“Copelan’s as busy as I am at the moment, and he can’t very well enter your room. And I . . .” He clenches his fist.

Then, like a man resigned, he relaxes it. “I suppose I could make it appear as if she’s been here the whole time. I’ve done it once before for a friend in a . . . unique situation. I would have to forge paperwork, but with the palace as large and crowded as it is, I doubt anyone will notice a new face.”

“And I can tell her what to say if questioned.”

He scratches behind his ear. “There’s a ferry that travels to and from Philam for supplies. Or you could take a rowboat after dark, so long as you skirt the isle on the west side.”

“I can get her.” I swallow down the urge to vomit. “But I would need a way to sneak her inside.”

He bites his lip, a moment passing before he says, “There is a way.” When I eye him, he scoots closer to me and lowers his voice. “Vasalie, what I’m about to tell you, you mustn’t reveal to another soul.”

Laurent, you trust too easily.“Of course.”

He hesitates, and I offer him the best reassuring glance I can, squeezing his arm.

When finally he tells me, I wish to all the Fates he hadn’t.

“There is a network of tunnels that run throughout the palace. They were built almost a century ago and had been completely forgotten about, but Anton rediscovered them.”

Secret tunnels. A network of them. Is that how Illian reached my room? Or has he merely paid off enough staff to ignore his comings and goings?

“Only the Miridranian kings know of this?”

“Only His Majesty, King Anton,” Laurent clarifies, “and his most trusted guards. He’s since added to them, and he opted to keep them a secret should a precarious situation ever arise and he needed an escape.” He pauses. “Just this once, you may use them to bring your friend in unseen. You’ll find an entrance in the kitchen cellar. Follow the main tunnel. If you don’t branch off, it will lead you underneath the guard’s barracks and straight to the docks. Go after nightfall, and don’t get caught.”

I squeeze his hand again. “I can do it.”

His fingers curl into mine. “I’m trusting you.”

“I know,” I whisper, heart bleeding. I wish I were actually helping him. I wish . . . I wish our friendship was genuine. That I deserved his trust.

After this, I won’t deserve to look him in the eye.

I rise after that, but he wraps a hand around my wrist. “Vas?”

When I turn, his eyes go unfocused. “Be careful around the halls, yeah?”

“Of course,” I say, something about his tone setting me on edge.

“Something big is happening. Something bad.”

A thread of unease twines around me. “What do you mean?”