The door closed behind them and I dropped the towel forgetting the slave who’d brought us the message. He cleared his throat. “Lady, do you need help with the silk?” I nodded.

“Yes, please. I didn’t think to ask for help before they left.”

He moved to my side and I wondered how long he had before he would be dead. Even with the influx of calories he’d just had, I knew he didn’t have the strength to last more than a few days. Yet, his hands were still deft as they wove the black silk around my body, pulling it tight and tying it off at my waist. “There you go. Right as rain.”

“What is your name?”

He smiled, his eyes going distant. “Don’t know if I remember anymore. It’s been so long.”

I licked my lips. “Has it always been this bad, for the slaves?”

“No, lady, it hasn’t. It will get worse, though.” His brown eyes flicked over me. “You should leave. While you can.”

With a wobbly bow, he began to back out of the room.

“Wait. The cells, where are they? How do I get to them?”

The slave paused and then pointed down to the floor.

“Please,” I begged. “I’m trying to make things better.” A half truth, but I would say anything to make him trust me.

He closed his eyes, trembling where he stood. “The slave quarters. They reside above them. But I’ve heard there is a secret entrance, on the same level as the kitchen. That is all I can tell you.”

I reached under the pillow and pulled my one dagger out. Ash still had all his weapons, not one was removed from him. Yet another strike against him, as much as it hurt to admit.

Digging around the closet, I came up with a studded belt. Too big for my waist, I slid it over my hips at an angle. From it, I hung the dagger’s sheath. Stepping out of the room I headed left. Ayu would be of no help, and other than Dolph, I didn’t know anyone else. The cells would be on the lowest levels. That made sense, but the secret entrance . . . That might be my best bet.

Searching the hallways was a strange thing because there was no one around. No one except the same old man I’d met the night before. We passed each other several times with nothing more than a nod here and there.

Once I caught him asleep on a bench that rested across from the kitchens. There was no one to stop me as I slid my fingers along the edges of the walls looking for a cut in the rough material. Hours passed and the heat rose. Sweating freely, the black silk stuck to my skin, clinging tightly to my body.

“Ender Lark?”

I turned slowly to see Urchin, Dolph’s boy, behind me. How much could I trust him?

“Urchin? That’s your name, isn’t it?”

He nodded with that strange purpling of his cheeks that seemed to be the blush of an Undine with his coloring. I put a hand against the wall and took a slow breath, the silk tightening across my chest, no time like the present to try one of Bella’s tricks. Urchin stared, his eyes all but hanging from their sockets.

“Close your mouth, boy, they’re just breasts.”

“I’m sorry, I just . . . our women don’t dress like . . .”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Like what?”

All the fire went out of him. “Like humans.”

The restraint it took not to slap him had me shaking. He thought I was dressing like a human because I had to? “They would if all they had were pieces of see-through material to choose from.”

He swallowed hard and stepped back. I reached forward and grabbed his chin in my fingers. “Where are the cells the prisoners are kept in?”

“Why would you want to go there?”

Tightening my grip, I pulled him closer to me. I had to give him credit, his eyes stayed on my face as they flickered with a barely suppressed anger. Perhaps there was more to him than at first appeared.

“Urchin, I need to get to the cells.”

“Requiem doesn’t want anyone going there. I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” He stepped away from me, and I let him go. There was no point pushing . . . fear only went so far when it came to getting what you wanted. I knew that.

There had to be another way to find the cells, to find the ambassadors. But how? I turned in a slow circle, as the thought wove through my mind. If I were thrown into the cells, could Belladonna talk me out of them?

More importantly, did I trust her to stand by me and not leave me in the cells to rot if I went through with my idea?

Only one way to find out.

CHAPTER 10

The dining hall was empty and a stab of alarm shot through me. Where was Bella? After her walk with Ash, she should have been here, with Requiem. Before I could leave, the same slave who’d come to our room stepped into view. “They went for a walk along the sea wall, lady. The ambassador asked to be shown about and drink in the fresh air.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Requiem went with her?”

“No, he is in his personal rooms. He always goes there after midday break.”

I made a snap decision. “Take me to him.”

Bowing slightly, the human led me out of the dining area and through the circular palace. We climbed down several sets of stairs and crossed a bridge that stretched between two spires before reaching an open courtyard. Ahead of us was a single spire set back from the open-air coliseum. The slave led me into the spire and we climbed a set of stairs that led to a closed set of doors. We had to be a hundred feet above the ocean.

“That is his abode,” the human said softly, glancing behind us.