Violetta’s tightened hold tells me she has come to the exact same conclusion. This is our opening.

“Kenettra’s royal treasury holds a thousand times the sapphires you tried to steal in Dalia. You and I both know this. You managed to steal the crown jewels once before—now imagine all the gold behind that crown.”

As expected, Magiano’s eyes take on a gleam so intense that I have to take a step back. He tilts his head suspiciously at me. “You tell me this as if I’ve never considered stealing the entire Kenettran royal treasury,” he says.

“Then why haven’t you done it yet?”

“You are so naïve.” He shakes his head, disappointed in my answer. “Do you have any idea how many guards watch over that gold? How many locations it’s scattered across? What a fool attempt it would be for anyone to think he could take it all?” He sniffs. “And here I thought for a moment that you had some magical idea to take it too.”

“I do,” I reply.

Magiano lets out a short laugh, but I can tell he’s studying me seriously now. “Then please, Adelina, share it. You really think the entire Kenettran royal treasury can be yours?”

“Ours,” I correct him. “If you join us, you would never need to scramble for gold again.”

He laughs again. “Now I know you’re lying to me.” He leans forward. “What—are you planning to cloak yourself in illusions and sneak into the treasury to take one armful of gold at a time? Do you know how many lifetimes that would take you, even if you made dozens of trips a night? And even if you could steal all that gold, how does one even begin to transport it out of the country? Out of Estenzia, even?” He stands up on the beam, hops lightly to a spot where he can reach a higher beam, and starts to turn away.

“I never said anything about stealing it,” I call out.

He pauses, then turns to face me. “Then how do you plan to take it all, my love?”

I smile. A memory burns through my mind: the cold, rainy night; my father talking to the stranger downstairs; I’m sitting along the stairs, pretending from my perch that I am a queen on a balcony. I blink. The power of that desire rushes through me like a wild wind. “Simple. We take away the throne from Queen Giulietta and the Inquisition Axis. Then the Kenettran royal treasury becomes ours by right.”

Magiano blinks. Then he starts to laugh. The laughter grows louder, until his eyes shine with tears, until he finally stops to let himself catch a breath. When he composes himself, his eyes slit, glowing in the darkness. In the silence that follows, I press on. “If you join us, and we take the Queen of Kenettra’s throne, then malfettos will have a ruler like themselves. We can stop Teren’s thirst for our blood. You can have more gold than you ever dreamed of. You can have a thousand diamond-encrusted lutes. You would be able to buy your own island and castle. You’d be remembered as a king.”

“I don’t want to be a king,” Magiano replies. “Too many responsibilities.” But his answer is halfhearted, and he doesn’t move. He’s considering my plan.

“You don’t need to be responsible for anything,” I say. “Help me win the crown and save the country, and you can have everything you’ve ever desired.”

Another long silence drags on. His gaze wanders to my mask. “Take it off,” he mutters.

I hadn’t expected an answer like that. He’s buying himself some time to think, distracting me in the process. I shake my head. After all this time, the thought of showing a new stranger my greatest weakness still sends fear through me.

Magiano’s expression flickers, if only slightly, and some of the wildness seeps out of his eyes. Like he knows me. “Take off your mask,” he whispers. “I do not judge a malfetto’s markings, Adelina, nor do I work with someone who hides her face from me.”

When Violetta nods, I reach up and fiddle with the knot behind my head. The mask loosens, then swings completely off to dangle in my hand. The cold air hits my scar. I force myself to stare steadily back at Magiano, bracing myself for his reaction. If I’m going to have my own Elites, they will need to trust me.

He steps closer and takes a long look. I can see the slashes of honey gold in his eyes. A slow, lazy smile starts to creep onto his face. He doesn’t ask about my marking. Instead, he lifts the lower corner of his silk shirt and bares part of his side.

I inhale sharply. A hideous scar snakes its way across his skin, then disappears up under his shirt. Our eyes meet, and a moment of understanding passes between us.

“Please,” I say, lowering my voice. “I don’t know what happened to you in your past, or what your full marking looks like. But if the promise of gold doesn’t entice you enough, then think of the millions of other malfettos in Kenettra, all of whom will die in the next few months if no one saves them. You are a thief, so perhaps you have your own code of honor. Is there a place in your heart where you would mourn for the deaths of all who are like us?”

Something about my words strikes Magiano, and his eyes take on a faraway look. He pauses and clears his throat.

“It’s just a rumor, you know,” he says after a moment. “The story about the queen’s crown jewels.”

“The crown jewels?”

“Yes.” He looks at me. “The Kenettran queen’s crown jewels. I never stole them. I tried to—but couldn’t manage it.”

I watch him carefully. There is something shifting in the balance of our conversation. “Yet you still want them,” I reply.