I KEPT THE KEY UNDER MY PILLOW until nightfall, when I’d have the best chance of stealing into the library undetected. After a few hours of rest, I was well enough to dress in dark clothing and slip through the corridors.

As I hid in the midnight shadows near the servants’ entrance, waiting for the changing of the guard, an especially tall figure hurried toward the castle. It could only be Prince Eiko. Rumor had it he spent his evenings in the observatory, a tower mostly hidden by woods east of the castle.

He stopped, his chin rising, his head turning in my direction for a moment. I held my breath. Then he resumed his long-legged stride. I peered around the corner as the guards opened the creaking doors for him, making sure he disappeared into the castle. Two more guards arrived and the four began chatting. When their heads were turned away, I crept forward, taking a roundabout route and sticking to shadows as I picked my way through woods and over rocks and found the main road. From there, it was a straight route past the now familiar wharf.

The wharf wasn’t ready to sleep. A tavern facing the road had its door propped open, spilling light and laughter and the reek of sweat into the night air. Sailors guffawed and argued, their rough accents familiar from my time on the ship. I was about to move on, when I caught sight of a familiar broad, sun-lined face. Jaro sat at one of the tables, his cheeks red with drink, his easy smile flashing as his companion spoke and gestured with his hands.

Jaro looked up, and for a second I thought he might have seen me, but then he took another slow sip. I moved on.

A minute later, I heard the clump of approaching footsteps. I spun around, my hands automatically heated and ready to fight.

Jaro chuckled and showed his palms. “I surrender.”

I dropped my arms. “I didn’t think you’d seen me.”

“A good sailor is aware of any passing breeze.” His grin was wide. “Even one from the north.”

I just hoped he wouldn’t ask me why I was passing by so late at night. “How is Aver?”

“Angry. I enrolled her in the school. She would prefer to be at sea with me. But I have a peace offering. I built her a small vessel she can sail around the island.”

“On her own?”

“With a friend. As long as she watches the weather and tells me when she’s going out.”

“Am I considered a friend?”

“Of course, Ruby.” He stuffed his hands in his baggy pockets and rocked back on his heels. “You don’t even need to ask. If you want to sail, you can find me down at the seventh pier most days. Or here in the tavern at night.” His smile widened. “And it’s good to hear you speaking Sudesian. You learned quickly.”

“I had a good teacher.”

He made a dismissive gesture, but he looked pleased.

After we said our good-byes, I continued on until I reached the school. Sweat had beaded on my forehead, and my stomach roiled. The poison’s effects hadn’t left me entirely, but I ignored the discomfort. I needed to be back in the castle before dawn.

I crunched over the gravel drive and entered through the gate. No masters in sight. I crept through the school like a ghost, rolling each leather-clad foot from heel to toe.

The hallway was empty until I reached the black door of the library where two older masters dozed, one with her cheek pressed into her palm, the other with his head leaning against the door. Moonlight spilled in from the arcade of windows, and a single lantern burned from its perch on a hook.

Slowly, carefully, I lifted the lantern and walked it back outside, leaving it in the courtyard. I could barely see the guards in this light, but of course they could summon fire to brighten the scene at any given moment.

I needed to create a diversion.

I was considering lighting one of the straw-filled practice dummies, when a voice nearly startled me out of my skin.

“A little late to be practicing, isn’t it?”

I spun around. A tall form stepped into a patch of moonlight.

“Prince Eiko,” I said, hand to my chest where my heart was trying to break through. “What brings you here?”

The shadows shifted over his face. “I was going to ask you the same question.”

I watched him warily. His eyes glittered green in the moonlight, but his posture was relaxed. He crossed his arms, waiting for me to speak.

Every excuse for being here would sound weak, but I had to tell him something. “I’d hoped to practice alone for a while. It’s so peaceful here at night.”

He paused for several too-loud beats of my heart. “I may not rule this island, but I do know what goes on here. In fact, I know more than most give me credit for.” He took a step closer. “If you tell me what you need, perhaps I can help you.”

I resisted the urge to step back, instead meeting his eyes squarely and trying to read the expression in them. What was he hinting at? And how could I question him without revealing something about myself? I had no reason to distrust him, but not enough reason to blurt out my secrets. It was like sparring blindfolded. “Even if I needed help, why should you want to offer it?”

“I think we might have a common interest.”

I doubted that. I tried to buy time and to draw him out more. “Thank you for pleading my case with the masters.”

His lip curled. “Master Dallr is a pompous—” He cleared his throat. “Well, that is neither here nor there. They seem to have made up their minds. Only the queen would be able to overturn their decision.”

“But she won’t. She said as much.”

“She never has before.” He paused before giving a frustrated little breath. “As much as you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you completely, either, Ruby. You need to meet me halfway. Tell me what you are doing here. Alone. At night. Dressed like a thief.”

My heart stuttered and picked up speed. That was almost an accusation. “I’m dressed for practicing. Am I not allowed to be here?”

“I won’t tell the queen, if that’s what you mean.”

That surprised me, the hint that he would protect me, even if it meant hiding something from his wife. He was trying to gain my trust, but I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. I’d already made too many. This confusing dance was losing its appeal. Time was running out, I had a book to steal, and I was standing here trading riddles with the queen’s consort.

“But it’s only fair to warn you,” he added, “it won’t be easy to draw the guards from their post. If you’re caught, you will have to explain yourself to the masters and to the queen. I don’t think you want to have to do that. Do you?”

My hands fisted at my sides. I didn’t like being pushed. “I told you, I came to practice.”

He ignored that. “In only a few more days, you could have had legitimate access to everything here. But alas, you might have failed your second trial. So here you are now.”

Fear fluttered in my stomach. If he accused me in front of the masters, it was his word against mine.

When I said nothing, his hand sliced the air angrily. “If you continue to waste time, you’ll run out. When you realize that, come see me.”

He turned and disappeared into the dark. It took several minutes for my breathing to return to normal. My mind raced with questions, but they would have to wait. The night was slipping away. I opened my palms, set the practice dummies alight, then ran into the darkened hallway. Pitching my voice lower, I called out, “Fire!” and waited.

The guards rustled into wakefulness, moving from their post to follow the light from the merrily crackling practice dummies. As they ran to the well for a bucket of water, I slid through the dark and up to the library door.

It took a second to unlock, and I was inside. The door scraped the floor as I closed it, reassuring me that no light would bleed into the hallway. I lit a fire in my palm, using it to light four lanterns hanging from hooks.

Bookshelves ran in two rows with a central aisle. Each shelf had a lectern—a shelf that jutted out at waist height—and benches faced the lecterns. The books were all chained so they could be consulted here, but not removed.

There were hundreds of books and scrolls piled on shelves. Fortunately, during my training I’d chatted with some of the masters and gleaned information that hopefully seemed innocuous, expressing a love of books and asking about the libraries in Sudesia. Master Cendric had explained that there was a catalog, a master list of all books, and beside each title, a system of numbers and letters that marked a book’s position on a shelf. I found the catalog easily, a narrow book laid open on a lectern near the door. I held up a lantern and drew my finger down the list, looking for Pernillius the Wise.

There. It was here! Excitement sizzled through me. I checked the shelf and lectern numbers and found the correct spot.

The book wasn’t there. I double-checked the catalog, then the shelf. It wasn’t where it should be.

I moved to the other shelves and yanked out book after book. I knew the school’s routines by now, and I was running out of time. Before dawn, prayers would start, and the guards would change. That would be my only chance to leave. After that, the school would be too busy.

In my panic, I knocked my elbow against a shelf full of scrolls. Some of them fell to the floor. As I was picking them up, I saw the word throne on one and stopped to unfurl it. It looked like a schedule, with days and times. The title read, “Guard Schedule—Throne,” and the dates were from just last week. But I hadn’t seen a single master guarding Queen Nalani’s throne room. Unless it was only at night…? No, the schedule on the scroll was round-the-clock.

Which suggested another possibility: Was there another throne room?