Because she’d already known.
“Was any of it real?” Kiva asked hoarsely.
The healer — not a healer, Kiva reminded herself — paused her tugging, shifting to meet Kiva’s eyes.
“Everything between us was real,” she said solemnly. “Please don’t doubt that.”
“You’ve lied to me about who you are, from day one,” Kiva said, anger rising in her.
The look Rhess sent her spoke volumes. “You can hardly talk.” Kiva’s anger dampened, but she held on to as much as she could, saying, “That’s different. You knew who I was all along.”
“But you still lied to me that whole time,” Rhess argued, her attention returning to Kiva’s ropes. “So why don’t we call it even, and instead of fighting each other, focus on getting out of here?”
Any lingering anger fled from Kiva. Rhess was right — they’d both lied to each other, and they were both in this mess together. They could work out their differences later, once they were safe.
“Those were King Navok’s men, weren’t they?” Kiva asked, already knowing the answer, but showing Rhess she was willing to let everything else go, at least for the moment. “They’re after Jaren?”
“So it seems,” Rhess answered. “They said a few things after knocking you out again — they spoke in Mirravish, thinking I wouldn’t understand, but the village I grew up in was close enough to the border that I was raised bilingual.” As an aside, she said, “That’s where I met your brother, by the way. He saved me from those mercenaries who attacked my village five years ago. He’s been my best friend ever since.”
Kiva remembered what Rhess had shared about her tragic past, and how she’d been adopted by a new family.
She’d been talking about the rebels all along.
Frustrated anew at missing all the signs, Kiva forced herself to stay on topic. “What did the men say?”
“They want to make a swap,” Rhess answered. “Prince Deverick — Jaren — for us. They think he’ll go for it, especially with you here.”
“We need to escape before he does something stupid,” Kiva said, stating the obvious.
“I’m working on it,” Rhess said, continuing to pluck at the ropes.
Thinking about everything else the men had said, Kiva asked, “Do you know what bargain they were talking about? The debt they said is overdue?”
“That was particularly worrying, I’ll admit,” Rhess said. “I have no idea what they meant by it, but I don’t have a good feeling.”
“Are you sure you don’t know anything?” Kiva pressed, shifting her hands. The bonds were loosening, but she was nowhere near free yet. “You’re a rebel. And Tor’s second, or best friend, or — whatever.”
“He tells me everything,” Rhess said, doing something to the ropes that had Kiva wincing. “If he knew about some deal your mother made, I’d know.”
“I’m pretty sure Zuleeka knows,” Kiva said, recalling her sister’s veiled words again, and the way the Mirraven men had said her name so boldly.
Rhessinda’s voice changed to one of displeasure. “How shocking.”
Kiva couldn’t keep from asking, “You and my sister . . . ?”
“My allegiance is to Tor,” Rhess declared firmly. “I don’t give a damn about the rebel cause, but I’d give my life for him. I owe him that much after everything he’s done for me. So where he goes, I go. And if that means I have to put up with your scheming snake of a sister, then so be it.” Pulling away from Kiva’s ropes again, she quickly said, “Maybe don’t mention that last part to her.”
Kiva hid a smile. “My sister and I aren’t on the greatest of terms, either.” She thought about what Delora had said, how Zuleeka had kept the truth of their mother’s dark magic hidden, and their tainted family history. But then she remembered how Zuleeka had apologized for her behavior, how she was trying to mend their relationship, as she’d promised she would. Quietly, Kiva added, “But we’re working on it.”
“Good luck with that,” Rhess muttered. “Just don’t forget that vipers have fangs.”
“You really don’t like her, do you?”
Rhess sighed and gave a particularly vicious tug to Kiva’s ropes, after which came the sound of threads snapping. Still, Kiva wasn’t yet free. “I’m sorry, I know she’s your sister. Tor and I made an agreement long ago not to talk about her. He’s very committed to his family, no matter what choices they make.”