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“I think he ht be here”

I’hts byh a crowded street

Violetta purses her lips in a familiar expression of concern She can tell I’o “I said, I think he ht be here In the main square”

It is early evening on the longest day of the year We are lost in the thick of a celebration in the city-state of Merroutas, the wealthy, bustling crossroads between Kenettra and the Tamouran Empire The sun has nearly dipped below the horizon, and the three olden orbs suspended over the water Merroutas is alight with festivities for the Midsu Violetta and I wander through the throngs of revelers, lost amid the celebration’s rainbow of colors Both of us are dressed in Taers adorned with bronze rings People draped in jasarlands are everywhere, packed into the narrow alleys and spilling out into the squares, dancing in long lines around do teo-laden boats and buildings carved in gold and silver with thousands of repeating circles and squares Ornate tapestries hang from balconies in the s billowing silks instead of heavy armor, a moon-and-crown emblem stitched onto their sleeves They’re not the Inquisition Axis, but no doubt they’ve heard news of Teren’s orders from across the sea to find us We steer clear of the soldiers

I feel as if I were in a haze, the celebrations floating around e, really, to look out at all of this joy What do I do with it? It doesn’t feed uide us through the busy streets, as I return to hts

Since leaving Kenettra three weeks ago, I have woken to whispers at my bedside that fade away seconds later Other times, the hushed voices talk to me when no one else is around They are not always there, and I cannot always understand the toin the corners of my mind There is a blade there, a rotation of sound and silence, a la fire This is what they say:

Adelina, why do you blame yourself for Enzo’s death?

I should have had better control over my illusions, I respond quietly to the whispers I could have saved Enzo’s life I should have trusted the Daggers sooner

None of it was your fault, the whispers in ue You didn’t kill him, after all—it was not your weapon that ended his life So why are you the one cast out? You didn’t have to return to the Daggers—you didn’t need to help them rescue Raffaele And still they turned on you Why does everyone forget your good intentions, Adelina?

Why feel guilty for so that isn’t your fault?

Because I loved hione

It’s better this way, the whispers say Haven’t you alaited at the top of the stairs, i yourself a queen?

“Adelina,” Violetta says She tugs on my arm and the whispers scatter

I shake my head and force myself to concentrate “Are you sure he’s here?” I ask

“If not him, then another Elite”

We’ve co eyes in Kenettra It is the nearest place outside of Kenettran control, but eventually we’ll make our way south to the Sunlands, far from their reach