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He bowed slightly and walked away, his walking stick tapping on the terrace’s slate surface in time with his uneven gait.

A moment later, Clemens Fabius emerged from the crowd of bidders and greeted me with a deep bow. His curly blond hair had been tamed by cream and was neatly parted in the middle of his head. In the torchlight, there was a faint blush on his freckled cheekbones. He was handsome, in a wiry, nervous way, and several of the other apprentices watched him with interest. Why had he singled me out tonight for conversation?

“Good evening, my dear girl. Delightful to see you again.”

I curtsied, but my eyes were on Sebastianus’s retreating figure. Every conversation I had with him left me feeling strangely unsettled.

“I’ve been thinking about your charming interest in exploring,” Clemens Fabius continued. “Shall we walk together?”

He held out his arm. I suddenly regretted having shared with him my interest in adventuring. I had given him access to something too close to my heart, when instead I should be taking care to wall off those parts of myself. In fact, I should keep all my hopes and feelings far away from the men who came to buy our company.

But what could I do in this moment? I put my hand on his arm, and we set off at a slow pace.

He bent down to speak quietly in my ear. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were in conversation with the Archidux Sebastianus of Panpirion. I hate to speak ill of a fellow nobleman, but you’ve had so little exposure to the world that I feel I have some obligation.”

We stopped near the edge of the terrace. The moon was covered by a cloud, which it illuminated with a pale yellow light.

“I don’t want to alarm you,” he continued, “but I understand you’ve already had a visit with him, so my warning is urgently needed.”

I rested my hand on the low stone wall and tried to sound indifferent. “An urgent warning? How mysterious.”

He continued as though I hadn’t spoken. “I’ve made a detailed inquiry about each apprentice here, of course. I want to be confident of a girl’s quality and innocence before I place a bid. I talked to the matron about you, and I was disappointed to hear that the Archidux had already taken such an action, ahead of other bidders. It raised a question for me as to whether I should go forward.”

“My lord, we meet with any potential bidder who wants to have a private conversation.”

He took my hand in his slim, pale one. “I understand, but given his terrible reputation, I was quite surprised that the matron permitted it.”

Despite my own lack of worldliness, cloistered as I had been my entire life, I could sense something naive, perhaps stubbornly so, about this man.

He stared out over the city below, lit up with a thousand candles and lanterns. “I must ask: Did he encourage you to compromise yourself in any way? Did he ask you to do anything that made you uncomfortable, that you weren’t prepared for?”

I thought of Geographica, hidden under my bed.

My expression must have revealed something, because he drew a quick breath. “Ah, I see he did.”

“No, I certainly don’t mean that he—”

He interrupted. “Tell me only this. Did you agree to his request? I need to know the truth, so I can decide in good conscience what to do.”

I knew we were not talking about the same thing, but as I had not yet actually given Sebastianus the book, it was both truthful and less complicated just to say, “My lord, I have done nothing.”

He studied my face for a moment, and then his jaw relaxed. “I’m very much relieved to hear it. I’ll put the concern out of my mind. Shall we continue our stroll?”

We proceeded along the terrace.

“I must caution you to keep your distance from the Archidux,” he said.

“Why is that?”

He looked around as though wanting to be sure no one was listening. “He’s capable of anything. It’s commonly understood that he murdered a fellow centurion during his time in the Imperator’s army and was dishonorably discharged.”

This news brought me up short. Sebastianus had murdered someone? He had been referred to as rough and unpredictable, but I hadn’t imagined him capable of that. I remembered our few conversations, how close behind me he had stood mere minutes before, and my neck prickled again as though his breath were still there.

“Not only that, but he tossed aside an opportunity to enrich the Empire, when the Imperator’s war effort is in dire need of funds.” Clemens Fabius ran a hand through his curly hair. “Ah, but these broader issues are not the concern of a beautiful little flower such as yourself, safe within these walls. Now that my warning is given, let’s turn to more pleasant topics.”

We walked around the outer edge of the terrace. Vesta and the gem merchant were seated together at a small table. The man leaned forward, watching as she emphasized a point with a delicate movement of her arm. She seemed so calm and determined, performing her assigned role with a composure that felt far beyond my ability.

A few feet away, Sebastianus talked with Vicecomes Ignatius. He appeared to be listening to the man, but I sensed that the Archidux was always aware of what else was happening around him. At one point, our eyes met briefly before he turned back to his companion. A murderer? I could hardly believe it.