I grasp at reasons to convince Malak to take another path. “Nobody would believe it was Nero. Like you said, he’s a faithful servant.”
Malak laughs. “No, Vandawolf, by the time I give you the order to kill Cohen Copperstream, nobody in this city will doubt that Nero wanted him dead.”
A cold chill runs the length of my spine. “Why?”
Malak clicks his tongue at me and doesn’t answer my question. “Be sure to wrap Nero’s red sash around Cohen’s neck so there’s no doubt who killed him.”
Malak steps back with a dismissive wave. “Go now. Continue working at the coal house. Report back to me at sunset each day. We will keep up the routine. But otherwise, you are free to do whatever you must to succeed.” He narrows his eyes at me. “Remember what you will lose if you fail.”
My brother.
Whose trust I will lose if I succeed.
My heart is heavy as I retreat through the orchard.
Halfway along the path, I stumble and reach out to steady myself against the nearest glittering tree, this thing of beauty.
Malak has given me a task, but I also have time to plan and permission to roam. While I shadow Cohen Copperstream, I can find out more about the city’s weaknesses. I can study House Silverspun too.
I can find a way out of here.
A way to get Asha and her siblings out, along with my brother and Skirra, and get us all to safety.
By the time I reach the gate, my mind is calm, but my brother’s agitation is clear.
“What happened?” he asks as we make our way to the kitchen.
I cast a glance around. “Not here.”
By the time we’ve eaten and finally reach our room, Thoren is beyond agitated.
“What happened?” he asks again.
I choose my speech carefully, focusing on what’s important. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
He takes a step back from me. “Who is ‘us,’ Erik?”
I know he won’t like my answer. “You, me, Asha, her siblings?—”
“What about Petra and her family? What about Maybelle and the husband she mentioned? What about all the other humans?”
My heart is heavy again. “I can’t save them all, Thoren.”
“No, you can’t,” my brother whispers. “ButIcan.”
I consider him with wary surprise. “What are you talking about?”
He pauses before he gestures to the fresh apples he placed on the floor beside his rug. “Do you remember when we left those apple cores for Petra? Well, as a healer, she studies the properties of plants, so she tested grinding parts of the apple andcombining them with different substances to see what would happen.”
He steps toward me, his voice lowered. “She discovered that by grinding the seeds into the salve and then applying it to your skin, it causes the salve to form a protective layer.”
I remember the way Petra and Thoren had their heads together over a pot of salve the night I followed him to the infirmary. Petra was explaining something and Thoren was nodding.
“It helps heal burns in a fraction of the time, but that’s not all. It stops the burns altogether.”
My forehead creases. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you can smear the salve on your hands and safely handle the coal.”
