“You could use the rest,” he countered. “And the house is still far off. We can’t see it from here.”

“It’s right there.” I pointed. “We can ask The Lady’s friends about Aiyetoro’s masks. There might even be clues in the manor; we can search …” I trailed off as Sanjeet squinted at Bhekina House, his expression blank. “Oh. Right.” My stomach sank. “The Lady wished for ‘a stronghold that no one may see or hear.’ Not unless she desires it.” And if I could see those red rooftops, then The Lady wanted me to return. She wanted to keep me, as she had for years, in that windowless study. Her caged bird. Her Made-of-Me. I swallowed, stepping back.

“I’ll go in the morning,” I told Sanjeet. “It’s … easier to search by daylight.”

Melu’s canopy arched over downy bedrolls on raised pallets. He had summoned satin pillows and baskets of dates and kola nuts. They were scattered on straw mats so fine, sprites must have woven them. Somehow, the canopy shielded us from mosquitoes and gadflies, and probably beasts as well, though Sanjeet still kept a scimitar by his pillow as we slept. I woke the next morning with my head on his shoulder, and his arm across my torso.

Mortifying, I thought, and did not move an inch.

Sanjeet’s lashes twitched. Like me, I realized, he was too still to be truly sleeping. Mutually caught, we fumbled apart.

“Don’t be shy on our account,” called a familiar cheeky voice. “It’s nice to see you two have made up.”

Sanjeet’s scimitar leapt into his hand, and we were both on our feet in seconds. Two figures, one tall and sullen, and one short and merry-faced, approached our canopy.

“Kirah!” I cried at the short figure, delighted. “And … Woo In?”

They rode a catlike beast that sent thrills up my spine. The luridly bright leopard was the size of a horse, each paw the width of two human hands. Its wily yellow eyes glowed even in daylight. I exhaled through my teeth. I had not seen Woo In’s emi-ehran since the day the Children’s Palace had burned. It was no wonder Woo In had survived the Underworld with that as his protector.

Sanjeet tightened his grip on his scimitar, lowering into combat stance. “Wait,” I said, touching his arm. “I know that beast.”

Kirah waved and hopped down from the emi-ehran’s back. A bandage covered one of her hands. Along with her gauzy prayer scarf, she wore the clothes of a Blessid priestess: a sand-colored tunic and pantaloons. They blew about her in a strangely sudden wind as she ran toward us. Sanjeet lowered his blade in confusion.

“You’re all right,” she gushed, suffocating us both in a hug. I inhaled her scent of cinnamon, dizzy with surprise and happiness. I had wondered if I would ever see Kirah again. Her cheek was hot against mine, and her lips were chapped and swollen.

“You’re sick,” I fretted. “Kirah, you’re burning up.”

Better by the second, she Ray-spoke, and Sanjeet and I replied in our minds, coaxing the jaundice of council sickness from her skin.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered, “how good that feels.”

“Your fever’s going down,” said Sanjeet, scanning her with his Hallow. “Thank Am you’re no worse. How long have you gone without the Ray?”

“Only two weeks.”

“Only two?” I scolded. “You could have gone mad!”

“That doesn’t happen for a month. At least, that’s what he says.” She tossed her head back at Woo In. “And he would know. But never mind that. Tar, I’ve never seen you wear your hair loose; it’s glorious.”

Sleep had flattened my puffy coils. I pulled at the hair in fistfuls, restoring its cloud shape, then crossed my arms. “You won’t change the subject that easily,” I said. “Why are you traveling with Woo In? Why are you here at all? How did you find us?” My fingers rose, itching to seize the answers from her memories. “Is Dayo—”

“Dayo’s fine,” she said, laughing and batting my hand away. “Only a scar left. And our whole council was summoned to An-Ileyoba, so I had to come fetch you and Jeet. As for Woo In—” Acid flashed in Kirah’s large hazel eyes. “Well. He’s using me. At least, that’s what he’s been telling himself.” She added in a stage whisper, “It’s not working out very well.”

Woo In descended from his mount, haughtily graceful as always, but he winced at Kirah’s words. He looked … guilt-ridden.

“What in Am’s name is going on?” I snapped at him. “What are you doing with my council sister?”

He bowed, using that gossamer voice I had once known so well. “It has been too long, Lady’s Daughter.” He looked much sicker than Kirah, with sunken cheeks and dry, wan lips. Along with the purple veins of the Underworld, fever sweat shimmered on his bare chest. Coughing, he patted the emi-ehran’s flank. “You remember Hyung.”

“Of course,” I said. “We met the night you tried to burn down a palace full of children.”

Woo In stiffened, growing even more ashen. “We took measures to ensure none would die,” he replied. “No one except—”

“An innocent boy who had never hurt anyone,” snarled Kirah.

My brows shot into my hairline. “Wait. You know about Woo In setting the fire? Who told you?”

“He did. He told me a lot of things. And for someone so determined to be free, he acts an awful lot like a puppet.”

“I have nothing against your prince,” Woo In murmured. “Kirah, please. I was just following orders. I was trying to prevent more deaths—”

“How do you even know Woo In?” I blurted, head swiveling back and forth between them. The tenderness in his tone, as well as the flush in Kirah’s cheeks, was beginning to make me uneasy. “I haven’t seen him since our council was crowned at Ebujo. And even then, I didn’t remember who he was.”

“I met him on the road,” she replied. “He was following me—and he’s been spying on us! Remember how we used to sit on the Children’s Palace roof? He was there, all last year. Listening.”

“Following orders,” he repeated wearily.

If Kirah was right, then Woo In had heard my most vulnerable secrets: my dreams, lusts, worries. And by eavesdropping on us … I stiffened as Woo In stammered excuses at Kirah. In the last year, he had gotten to know her, as well. He had grown … fond of her.

Sanjeet came to stand between them, scrutinizing Kirah’s right hand, which was heavily bandaged.

“This is fractured,” Sanjeet growled, rounding on Woo In. “If you laid a hand on my council sister—If you threatened—”

“Actually,” Kirah said calmly, “I threatened him. I first met Woo In on my way from Yorua. He stopped me in the road, so I pulled a knife. It didn’t come to blows then. He only wanted to know where Tarisai had gone, thinking the emperor might have taken her, like he took—” She broke off and gasped. “Oh, Tar. I’m so sorry—”

“It’s all right,” I said. “We know what happened to The Lady.”

“If he didn’t fight you, then what happened to your hand?” asked Sanjeet.

“Oh—” Kirah winced at her fingers. “This happened yesterday. His face was denser than I thought.”

Only then I noticed the bruise on Woo In’s cheek. “You punched him,” I said in shock. “Did he … Did he try to—”

“Of course not,” Woo In rasped. “I would never disrespect a woman that way. I would never hurt Kirah in any way. I was just—”

“He confessed about trying to kill Dayo,” Kirah said. “That’s why I hit him. Before that …” She frayed the edge of her prayer scarf. “We were getting along, actually.”

Why would Woo In tell Kirah the worst thing he’d ever done? “Why are you traveling together?” I asked, shaking my head to clear it. “And how did you get here so quickly?”

“Besides riding Hyung? We flew.” She paused. “I didn’t know anyone could fly until Woo In showed me. In Nyamba, we flew up a mountain at sunset. I’d never seen anything so—” She stopped, turning pink. “Anyway. He knew the way to Bhekina House, and I would never have found it without him. He didn’t have to bring me along, but he needed a way to influence you. At least, that’s what he said. So here I am: his leverage.” She beamed at me. “Is it working?”

I laughed and Kirah smiled, though her expression hardened. For the first time, she rounded on Woo In.

“You’re a fool to serve The Lady, you know,” she said. “So what if she promised to free the Redemptors? You don’t even know how she plans to do it—and you’ve served her for years! She doesn’t care about innocent Songland children, Woo In. For Am’s sake—she tried to kill Dayo. Her own nephew!”

“She cares,” Woo In insisted. “You don’t know her.”