What do you want him to say? Why are you searching for something complicated? I demanded of myself. I sought shelter in a cocky attitude. “Mostly I just want to hear you acknowledge that I was a better choice than Silas tonight.”

   “Well, certainly in some—” He looked ahead, toward his building, and groaned. “Wonderful.”

   I followed his gaze. “What?”

   Aiana stood in front of the bakery below his loft, a horse tethered nearby. She was leaning against a post and snapped to attention when she saw us, her face a thundercloud. Immediately, she began yelling at Grant in Balanquan. He kept his calm when he answered back in the same language, but it only seemed to make her angrier.

   She was in the middle of another tirade when I said, “Wait, wait. This isn’t his fault. I volunteered. And if it helps, he protested.”

   Aiana switched to Osfridian. “Well, apparently not enough! Come on, we’re going home. It’s a miracle no one noticed you were gone in the ball’s aftermath. Well, I’m sure Adelaide noticed.”

   “It was a one-time thing,” Grant said. “It was my fault.”

   Aiana turned on him. “Of course it was your fault! You should’ve never gotten her involved with any of this.”

   “She can make her own decisions. She got herself involved with this.”

   “With your prompting! Don’t drag her into your reckless lifestyle. Don’t make her like you! She has a good chance here. A chance for stability and happiness, maybe even love.”

   Grant’s calm and collected air disintegrated into angry disbelief. “With an arranged marriage to the highest bidder? How’d that work out for you with Mishi, Aiana? And where was your love and happiness when you were slinking in and out of that midwife’s bed? You should’ve learned your lesson from her, but I’m sure you’ve fallen in with some other disastrous lover while I’ve been gone.”

   Aiana looked as though he’d slapped her. “At least I learn my lovers’ names,” she said quietly. “And at least I try for human connection. Maybe I fail, but I try.”

   Icy silence descended as they stared each other down, and I had an unwelcome flashback to Adelaide and Tamsin fighting. The heat I’d felt in the tavern was gone. All I wanted was for these two to make peace.

   Grant yielded first, the challenge fading from his eyes. “Sekem, I didn’t—”

   Aiana held up a hand and moved toward the horse. “Don’t. She is already like you. Maybe she always was. And I’m going to assume from now on, she’ll just come and go when she wants. I’ll cover when I can, but if anything happens to her, it’s on you. I hope all your dreams and glory are worth that. Let’s go, Mira.”

CHAPTER 15

   I FELL ASLEEP AS SOON AS I WAS BACK IN MY BED, AND morning came far too quickly. I opened my bleary eyes to find Adelaide standing over me, dressed for the day and full of questions.

   “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Thank you for not telling anyone.”

   I could see she was waiting for more detail, perhaps an explanation or simply where I’d been. I stayed silent, mostly to avoid lying to her. At last, she asked cautiously, “Were you out exploring the city?”

   “Yes.” That, at least, I could say truthfully. “Foolish, I know.”

   “Something could’ve happened to you! Promise me you won’t do it again. It’s not safe for a woman alone.”

   “The world never is,” I remarked ruefully. It was the story of my life.

   She gave me a sharp look. “You didn’t promise.”

   “Because I can’t.”

   “Mira—”

   “Adelaide. You have to trust that I wouldn’t do anything—dangerous or otherwise—without a good reason. But . . . well . . .”

   I looked away, suddenly faced with a part of this subterfuge I hadn’t had to deal with before. On the ship, Adelaide had been too distracted to notice much of my goings-on. And until recently, my biggest fear of detection had been by those who dictated my future, like the Thorns. None of my work for Grant was supposed to have affected her. Technically, it still didn’t, but now that she had noticed my behavior, I had to choose how to address it.

   “We all have our secrets,” I said, looking back up at her. “I know you do too, and I respect that.”

   Adelaide had a hard time arguing against that, no doubt recalling that I’d never pushed for details on her erratic performance back at Blue Spring. Still, I couldn’t blame her for worrying. She was all I had left after Tamsin, and I was protective of her. I should’ve known Tamsin’s loss would make Adelaide protective of me too.

   She backed off on her interrogation and even gave me an easy smile as she left the room, but I knew I hadn’t totally erased her fears. As I finished pinning up my hair, I tried to imagine telling her the truth. What would she say if she knew that I’d been breaking into the home of a respected citizen last night? That I’d kissed a man inside a tavern of ill repute? That said man was a spy with a dangerous past and an infuriating personality?

   I stood in the doorway to my bedroom, closing my eyes for just a moment before following her downstairs. Against my better judgment, I let myself savor the memory of kissing Grant. Of being wrapped up with him. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.

   Stop this. Grant is a distraction, that stern inner voice reminded me as I walked down the stairs. He’s just a means to helping Lonzo.

   At the breakfast table, Mistress Culpepper was already announcing today’s schedule. The Thorns made sure no one stayed idle. Some, like Adelaide, had had all sorts of requests for meetings, and she spent her day entertaining one caller after another at the house. Those who weren’t occupied with individual appointments were sent off on group visits for tea or other activities that would get us exposure. I actually had a couple of callers of my own. One of them was making the rounds to all the girls. The other seemed legitimately curious about me, which was flattering, but nothing about him otherwise left an impression.