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She glanced up. She wasn’t going to ask him his name, but he stuck out a hand like he didn’t care.

“And you’re Adassah.”

When she didn’t take his hand, he took her elbows and rattled them until her arms unfolded, then he grabbed her hand and shook it.

Ryn tugged her hand back. “You’re a bit odd. Norkin.” She leaned to glance over the edge of her balcony where he’d climbed up, but no one else was with him.

“Yes, well, I’ve been in isolation half my life.” He glanced at his nails. “Now tell me what’s going on. I’m sure I can help you, but I want you to get me past the Ring Cobra in exchange.” He walked past her and pushed his way into her room, and Ryn whirled after him. Norkin glanced over at the bridal dress in the corner. It was covered in so much blood, Ryn wondered if she’d looked like a ghost bride last night while she’d stood guard at the door of the basement prison.

“What makes you think I need your help?” Ryn swooshed in front of the bloodied gown. “I don’t even know you.”

“But I know you.” Norkin smiled and jutted his thumb back toward the open doors. “Who do you think gave Xerxes the map that got you through the Outer Rings?” He kicked off his sandals and slumped back onto the bed, running his hand over the bedspread. “Curse the birds, this is comfortable. Did you know they make us Museum royals sleep on the floor?”

“Get off of my bed.”

“Yes, Lady Adassah.” Norkin sprang off the bed and clasped his hands in feign apology.

Ryn paced in a circle, glancing at his loosely tied robe and two bronze cuffs. Norkin was perfectly relaxed under her scrutiny, but maybe he was used to being stared at. But more importantly, his light eyes didn’t avoid hers like he had something to hide. And if he really had provided Xerxes with that map for the Tribute, and if Xerxes was really being watched, this hostage might be Ryn’s only chance to send a message.

Ryn folded her arms. “The Vafat have taken over the palace back in Per-Siana. The kingdom is lost.”

Norkin nodded. “That’s how it started in Messa when I was a boy, too. Vafat still give me nightmares.” His slender throat bobbed. “I still can’t bring myself to go near them, even after all this time.”

Ryn shook the thought of a young boy shuddering in his sleep from her mind, and she ran a hand down her hair. “I have to get Xerxes out of here. I need to get him back to Per-Siana before it’s too late. He’s the one who can save it.”

Norkin tapped his chin. “That’s not what I heard.” He eyed her bag of armour on the sofa, the gold mask resting on top. But he shrugged. “I won’t question the famed Gold Maiden though. When are you going to try and break him out?”

A small smile found her. “In three days. Right after my negotiation team leaves.” She took a step closer and studied his light blue irises, the tells of his face. “Can I trust you, Norkin? Look into my eyes.”

“Well, if I do that, I’ll probably fall in love with you,” he said, but he straightened himself and dramatically widened his eyes as he looked back. “This negotiation team came to save Xerxes, didn’t it?” he asked, and Ryn nodded. He sighed. “It was the way that old General was looking at Xerxes. Like a crushed father. But if I could figure it out, King Alecsander will have his suspicions. I don’t see how an escape with this team is going to work.”

“We’re not escaping the palace with the team. They’re going to wait for us in the desert after they leave. I’ll tell them you’re coming if that’s the deal you want to make, but I want you to deliver this message to Xerxes so he knows…” Her fingers ran over the tender spots on her throat, and Norkin glanced down at them. Burgundy patches formed on the floor from the strange light outside, and lyre music lifted from somewhere in the palace.

“So he knows you aren’t really planning to rip his heart out and marry Emad?” Norkin guessed.

Ryn cleared her throat and folded her arms. “Something like that.” She wandered over to the glass doors. “You should go. One of my soldiers will be here any minute. And that’s all I’m telling you.”

“Alright. Let me make sure I’ve got everything figured out.” Norkin held up a hand and pointed to his own fingers, one at a time. “First, you’re breaking out Xerxes—and me—in three days.” He wiggled the next finger. “Second, your team is waiting in the desert.” He aimed his pinky toward Ryn. “Third, his Gold Maiden isn’t going to marry Emad. I’ll go tell him the news.” He headed past her onto the balcony, but he stopped, snapped, and spun back, pointing at her again. “I’ll leave out the part where I fell in love with you though.” He flashed a smile, dimples making him look like a child, and Ryn huffed a laugh.

“Just go tell him.” She shooed him away with a flick of her hand.

Norkin climbed over the rail, rattling the ivies as he disappeared and leapt over to the smaller balcony below with a soft patter. Ryn pressed her fingers against her anxious heart and began to pace. She wanted to see Xerxes herself. She wanted to look into his eyes and tell him she had to act cold for a reason. This marriage to Prince Emad was the only way to guarantee the Per-Siana soldiers would be released, since it would happen before her alleged wedding. She didn’t trust Alecsander to keep his promises. She had to give him a reason to.

She’d already listened to General Reza’s watery coughing all night as she’d stood guard in front of the negotiation team’s door. She’d paced then, too, eavesdropping on people down the halls as they whispered about the blood dripping off her dress, about why there was blood smeared over the prison door, about how Per-Siana’s Gold Maiden had gone mad. General Reza’s coughs had turned to wheezing when he fell asleep. It was far too cold in the basement.

Bastone’s arms had rested through the bars of the door behind her, filling the space with his strong mint tea soap smell, and every once in a while he poked her as she passed.

“The people’s hearts have changed.” Bastone’s comment had made Ryn slow her walking.

There was a shuffle as Yusuf pushed Bastone aside, and a second later Yusuf’s face took up half the window; he pressed his cheeks against the bars as if being that much closer would make his whispers intelligible. Kilen tried to peek around him but found nowhere to wedge in. “The people turned on the Gold Maiden when the first marriage rumours began,” Yusuf had said in a dismal, raspy voice. “They believe Commander Adassah has sided with the enemy. There are all kinds of reports… No one’s really sure what to believe. But those who once chanted for the Gold Maiden to be their Adriel Queen no longer want anything to do with you.”

Ryn had stopped pacing altogether. There was a smacking sound, and Yusuf had yelped as Bastone scolded him for taking the comments too far.

She looked down at her sandals now, tracing one of the stones in the floor of her bedroom with her foot. The burgundy sky was sinking to gray as a new evening swept in, and she teetered toward the bed, rubbing her eyes. It had been a long day.

She couldn’t stop hearing Yusuf’s gruff voice in her head. But it wasn’t Yusuf’s fault—she’d done this to herself. Maybe this was one of the consequences of her choices El had warned her about. The screaming through the palace had begun shortly after Yusuf’s news, when people discovered the last plague. There’d been no time for her to process the comments. But now it settled in the pit of Ryn’s stomach as she realized that for a moment, she’d convinced herself that maybe Xerxes really could marry her if, El willing, they survived this. But it was only because of the people’s favour that she’d even let the idea cross her mind. The people wanted a Weylin Queen, but maybe the Gold Maiden’s reputation would have made them forgive her for being an Adriel.

But she’d lost their love. Even if Xerxes could somehow save the kingdom and change things for the Adriels, what sort of wife would she be if she only brought him more hatred from the people? Because even though Xerxes would deny it, even though he claimed he didn’t care what the people thought of him, Ryn had learned that the one thing he wanted deep down, more than anything, was to be loved.