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“Garnet?” Rye says incredulously. “Garnet-of-the-House-of-the-Lake Garnet?”

I nod.

He whistles. “This thing is deeper than I realized.”

“I’m surprised Ash didn’t tell you.”

“I’m not. He didn’t talk to me directly, remember?”

“Right.” I gaze out the window. The moonlight sparkles off the surface of the lake in front of the palace. “This room was where he told me what he did, what being a companion was really all about. This was where we fell in love.”

It’s such a personal sentiment, and I immediately regret saying it out loud.

“Sorry,” I say, blushing. “You don’t need to hear that.”

There’s a pause. I look at Rye and see his posture has changed. He leans forward, staring down at his hands. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “I do.”

I’m not sure what to say.

“We are unloved,” he continues after a moment, “and unlovable. That’s what they train us to think. We are objects of sexual and monetary value. Who could love someone as filthy as a companion? We are made to look pretty, but we are rotten on the inside. I don’t think you understand just how important you are to him. I don’t think you understand the value of your love. Because let me tell you.” He looks me right in the eyes. “It is priceless.”

I’m about to say “I know,” when I realize I don’t. Being a surrogate never made me feel unlovable. It made me feel cheap and used and angry. But I had Raven and Lily, I had my mother and Hazel and Ochre. Ash had Cinder and then nothing. And even Cinder wasn’t enough to stop him from hating himself.

I remember his words the night we fought before I came back to the Jewel.

And what do I have, Violet? You. Just you.

I’d thought it was an exaggeration at the time. I never thought Ash would find it difficult not just to love but to be loved as well.

“And now he’s passed that hope to us,” Rye continues. “That we might actually be able to live a life of our choosing, with someone who wishes to be with us, not someone who pays for the pleasure of our bodies. Companions are smart. We are well trained, and extremely disciplined. Give us a purpose, a single-minded focus, a cause that unifies us . . . well.” Another flash of teeth in the night. “We’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“Yes,” I say. “You are.”

“What’s your role in this whole thing?”

“I’m going to bring down the wall that separates the Bank and the Jewel. I’m going to let the people into this circle once and for all.” The words come out easily, with a confidence I haven’t heard in my voice before.

Rye’s mouth falls open. “By yourself?”

“No,” I say. “I’ll have some help.”

“Who—”

I hold up a hand. “I’ll explain another time.” I can’t muster the energy to tell him about the surrogates and the Paladin tonight.

“Of course. It’s late. You must be exhausted.” Rye stands as I do, ever the gentleman. I walk over and wrap my arms around him. He hesitates at first, then returns the hug.

“You deserve to be loved,” I say. “You all do.”

He doesn’t say anything, just squeezes me once, and I release him.

By the time I make it back to my chambers, I barely have the energy to slip my dress off over my head before I collapse onto the bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.

WHEN I WAKE THE NEXT MORNING, THERE’S A CRICK IN my shoulder from sleeping on it wrong.

I groan and roll onto my back, sunlight streaming through my open windows.

I gasp and sit up. The clock on the wall says it’s nine forty-five.