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I was reading in a rush, trying to make sense of everything that happened too quickly. I only read half of it, and what I did read is sort of a fog in my head. Something about the West predicting the moment I killed her. Then she tried to warn me.

Do not trust the Wizard of Oz. He is never what he seems.… You must destroy him.…

But what came after that?

I grit my teeth, angry at myself for not reading faster, angry that I let the letter slip from my grasp, and angry at Rook for stabbing me in the first place.

“She must be stopped,” Rook goes on. “If any of you good citizens of Oz see these two traitors, you have my permission to kill them on sight. The girl was last seen at the West’s castle with the Tinman. Together, they are extremely dangerous. I fear for all of your safety. Please know that I am doing everything in my power to protect you.”

“What a fucking asshole. I can’t wait to—” I cut off at the sound of barking from somewhere behind Rook.

No. No.

My heart sinks.

“If any of you have any information on the whereabouts of Dorothy and the Tinman”—the barking continues, and at this point, it feels deliberate—“please report it to me immediately. I will pay a reward for any credible information.

“Stay safe and be well.”

The transmission cuts out and the mirror returns, revealing me and the Tinman in front of it.

“He has Toto.” I stalk across the gallery as guilt festers in my gut. I should never have let Toto out of my sight. At the time I thought Tin or the monkeys might harm him and that he was better off hiding.

I was wrong.

“He’s using the creature to bait you,” the Tinman says.

“I know that.”

I make my way back through the castle, back toward the West’s bedroom, where I left my armor.

“Don’t give in to it.”

“I can’t leave my dog with him.”

“You’re acting like a fool.”

I round on him. “Why are you not angrier? He just told everyone in Oz to kill us on sight!”

The Tinman has the audacity to roll his eyes. “We’re not so easily killed. He’s playing a game with you and you are letting him.”

I swallow, trying to slow the rapid thump of my heart. Adrenaline is pounding through my veins and my knees feel a little shaky because of it. Or perhaps it’s a combination of the adrenaline made worse by my hunger. How long has it been since I last ate? I made myself a Henry list and immediately neglected task number two.

But I can’t abandon Toto.

Looking back, his ambivalence toward Rook from the very beginning should have set off alarm bells. But like the fool the Tinman claims me to be, I ignored it because the mysterious stranger, the wounded scarecrow, was handsome and charming.

He was playing a game with me, and I rolled over so easily.

I won’t let him get away with it a second time.

Back in the bedroom, I fetch the armor and shoulder into it. The straps flap at my sides and I fight with holding the plate in place while weaving the straps through their buckles.

The Tinman can only watch me struggle for a minute before he’s batting my hand away and threading the straps for me.

He’s so close, I can see the stubble on his jaw is speckled with gold. His eyes, stormy gray from a distance, on closer inspection are ringed in black, his lashes long and fine.

My heart knocks against the backs of my teeth and my tongue suddenly feels cumbersome in my mouth. Heat is coursing through my veins now for very different reasons.