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“I doubt Xerxes would be fond of a long-distance arrangement.”

“King Xerxes?” I stare at Titaia as she nods, struggling to process the meaning of her words. My mind races, sifting through memories of my lessons at the Aviary. We had studied the ruling families of the neighboring kingdoms. King Xerxes ascended to the throne over a year ago, taking a consort not long after his rise to power. “Silas is the king’s consort? How?”

Titaia’s shoulders lift in a slow shrug. “I don’t know the full extent of it,” she says. “But Cynna told me they met when Silas was searching for Xan. An accident of fate, some might say.”

“Does the king know what he is?”

“Of course. He’s the first king of Arkhadia to know, but I believe he made a bargain with the queen, one that involved a trade agreement.” Her smile falters. “It’s a large secret to hold.”

I huff a laugh. “Aren’t they all?”

Titaia takes another sip of her wine, her gaze fixed on me over the rim.

I go still as she lowers it, but she remains silent.

“Go ahead and say what’s on your mind, Titaia.”

“They’re saying the wedding has been delayed,” she says finally. “Until the mourning period is over. For his parents. The court is…performing grief.”

I shut my eyes to keep the present from splitting under the weight of the past. Keres’s hands on my face, the biting edge of his voice as he called me “sweet heart,” the cold iron chafing my throat.

A prince who learned power as theater, now a king who has no reason to pretend.

“When I heard the news, I thought you hadn’t been able to escape,” she whispers. “I thought he’d caught you again, and I felt so guilty for not doing more.”

I open my eyes and find hers. “You have nothing to feel guilty for, Titaia. If it weren’t for you, I would have been forced to marry him by now.”

Her gaze—so like her cousin’s in color but the complete opposite in its capacity for warmth—searches my face. “I should have warned you. I should have told you to leave when you first arrived.”

A bitter laugh scrapes past my throat. Even if she had, I would have chosen to stay, but she couldn’t have known that.

“Oh, Titaia.” I down the rest of my wine, then reach for the cask to refill my cup. “I have so much to tell you.”

Titaia and I descend the stairwell together, her steps uncharacteristically slow and her expression wide-eyed from the story I told her.

I feel lighter, somehow. That’s two people now—Lyxander and Titaia—who know the full truth of my life. But as we near the ground floor, the lightness in my chest tightens into a knot.

The others are gathered in the lounge area, their conversation halting as we step into view. Rhaya is perched on the headrest of a recamier, her tawny wings tucked neatly behind her. Silas stands by one of the fireplaces, his arms crossed, while Cynna sits with one leg draped over the other. Their wings are hidden away.

I hesitate, but Titaia moves to Cynna’s side, settling beside her on the chaise.

Someone mutters behind me, and I turn as Kato strides from the direction of the kitchen. He stops short when he spots me, his face breaking into a grin. “Ah, there she is! Perfect timing.”

I blink at him. “For what?”

He claps his hands together, his wings giving a small, excited flutter. “It’s time for a plan.”

“A plan?” I glance at Titaia, who shrugs, then back at Kato.

“For you,” he says, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “To get you to emerge.”

Silas’s expression is almost bored, but Cynna’s lips press into a thin line. Rhaya offers me a small, reassuring smile.

“We were just discussing it,” Rhaya says, gesturing for me to join them. “Trying to figure out what might help provoke your first shift.”

Shock ripples through me, immediately chased by suspicion. Silently, I cross the room and settle onto an empty chaise, the cushions sinking beneath me as I fold my hands in my lap. My gaze sweeps over their faces, searching for cracks in their expressions, for some hint of what they’re not saying. “Why would you help me?”

Rhaya exchanges a glance with Kato. Then she leans forward, her amber eyes meeting mine. “Did Lyxander explain what kin means to the Harpaurai?”