“I’m sorry,” we both said, and she laughed. The sound was incredibly out of place down here, but it felt good to hear it from her.
“I thought you were bad at lying.” I attempted a smile. And yet, she’d kept the same secret I had. And neither of us had ever known.
“I never let myself think about it,” she admitted. “It didn’t feel like lying, because in my mind, my power didn’t exist. I’d buried it so deep, I never dared think about it unless I was alone in my bed at night.”
I’d done the same until recently, when I’d finally realized nothing was going to change and I needed to prepare to run.
“What was your plan, Asinia? For the Gifting?”
She gave me a shaky smile. “I figured I’d be executed then. But some part of me thought I could escape to the city, maybe pay someone to replicate the blue mark and disappear. Or get on a ship to someplace new. There are places where we would be safe. I know there are. What were you going to do?”
“I think some part of me always knew I’d run. I’d hoped for a miracle, but I’d known one day I’d have to flee the village. Once they found me, my plan was the same as yours. I was going to get to the city and get on a ship.”
“But you came here instead.”
“The moment I learned you’d been taken, my plans changed.”
“Even if…even if I don’t get out, it means everything that you tried.”
“You’re getting out.”
She attempted a smile, but her expression crumpled. “They killed my mother,” she whispered.
I pulled her into my arms. “I know,” I said. “And I swear to you, they’ll pay.”
“And your mother.”
“Yes.” I hadn’t allowed myself to mourn her properly, because I knew if I thought about her too much, if I considered her last moments…
“Pris?”
Her voice was barely a whisper, but I shook my head. “Call me Setella. Tibris is Loukas,” I murmured into her ear. “Don’t say Vicer’s name at all.”
She pulled away, her mouth falling open. “Ti…Loukas is here?”
“Oh yes. He’s the reason you’re alive. He was healing you a little each day, but you kept getting worse. It was…”
“Like your father. Gods, it must have reminded him of…”
Of trying desperately to keep our father alive. Only now he knew it wasn’t because our magic had been sacrificed to the gods. It was all for the king’s greed.
I wanted Sabium dead more than I’d ever wanted anything before. In my quiet moments, I fantasized about it.
“Who was the man who helped me last night?”
I had a feeling I knew. I lowered my voice until it was nothing but a whisper. “What did he look like?”
“I didn’t see him. He stayed hidden, but I could hear the healer murmuring to him.”
My throat tightened, and I took a deep breath. He’d come through for me. Even after I’d left him alone in the king’s chamber.
“His name is Lorian. He’s a mercenary. Don’t worry about him.”
Asinia’s eyes were already growing heavy. “Eat a little more before you sleep.” I pushed the bread toward her.
She took it, absently shoving it into her mouth. Something in my chest relaxed at the sight of her eating. She’d lost so much weight, her dress was gaping on her.
“What day is it?” she asked around her next mouthful.
I knew what she was asking. My heart was being squeezed in my chest. “You’re not going to burn, Asinia. I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Don’t forget about me,” Demos muttered, and I turned to look at him.
He’d pressed himself up against the bars, still listening to our every word. When I frowned at him, he shrugged unrepentantly. He looked better too. Even with the scant amount of food we’d been able to bring him.
“I won’t forget about you,” I said seriously. He stared at me for a long moment, and then he smiled. I had that vague feeling of recognition again.
“I have to get back,” I whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Asinia hugged me, and it was a long time before she finally let go.
Leaving her in that cell when she’d been out of her mind with fever had been the hardest thing I’d ever done. Leaving her there when she was alert, her lower lip trembling…
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Demos said gruffly.