hard. “My sister was taken by the Night during the battle yesterday.” The officer breaks her tough façade. She squeezes her eyes shut, breathes deep, then opens them again. “I have to find her, bring her home.” Her jaw hardens. “And you’re going to help me.”
“Of course I will. If you can get me out of here I can get you to the Lower and find your sister. I promise.” Her eyes dart to mine at promise. “I’m so sorry this happened.” I hope she senses my genuine concern, how much I truly want to help her and not just because there’s something in it for me. I also hope she can’t hear the quaver of doubt in my voice, how I’m still fearful this could be a trick.
But I’ve got nothing to lose. If I stay, I’ll be executed. If this is a trap, I’ll still be executed, but maybe—maybe—I could actually escape first.
And if she’s being honest? We’ll both be at risk but also both have something to gain.
Again, I hear Nico … Basso … Dogio … We’re no different.
“My name’s Imilia—Imi.” She sticks her hand out to shake.
I take her hand in both of mine, shake it gently. “Nice to meet you, Imi.”
She nods, glances over her shoulder. “I have to go check on a couple of things. Here—” She pulls a small glass bottle from her jacket pocket, tips it my way. “It’s broth, for strength. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
She rushes off.
Locks the door.
But leaves the candle.
* * *
HOURS LATER AND under the glow of a fresh candle, Imi tucks her hair behind her ears, and I can see her face better than before. She’s around my age, give or take a year or two. She has thick, dark eyelashes shadowing a kind but intense gaze.
She takes a breath. “I’m just not sure…” She takes a deeper breath. Nods. “I want to trust you.” The urgency in her words, the speed at which she’s speaking makes me both anxious and excited to get going. I can tell she’s ready to break out of this place and find her sister right now but is forcing restraint so we do it right. “We have to trust each other if we’re going to make it out of here alive.”
There will be no room for error.
“How do you imagine we’re going to get out of here, much less make our way to the Lower? I’m wanted, and you’re an Imperi officer. It’s not like we can just stroll out of prison and hop down a den.”
She clears the emotion from her throat. “Right. Well, first off, you’re not in prison; you’re under the Imperi Palace.”
My eyes go wide. “What? Are you joking?”
She shakes her head, expression dead serious. “It’s not great but better than if you were in the prison under the Coliseum. At least we don’t have to worry about finding our way across the Great Sea.”
“That’s true.” At least one of us is seeing the positive. Though she’s yet to mention the surely hundreds of ways we can have our necks sliced open breaking out of Imperi Palace.
“I’ve been thinking”—she lowers her voice to just above a whisper—“staking the palace out with fresh eyes while doing my rounds … I’ve come up with a loose plan.”
“Okay, good.” I’m leaning forward, my hair nearly catching on the flame. If I were sitting in a chair I’d be on the edge of my seat.
Imi catches my eyes. “You’ll play the part of Basso thief, and I’ll be the arresting officer who’s taking you to the real prison.”
“You’ve thought this through. But … Imi, I’m not just any Basso thief.”
“Not at all. Your face is literally plastered all over Bellona right now.”
“Right.” Perfect.
“First and foremost, it’s imperative we find a way to get you out of here undetected. Some sort of a diversion. And not a small one.” I nod. “And we can disguise you. Cut your hair. I’ll sneak in some different clothes.”
“Okay … This is good.” But my mouth is inexplicably dry.
“Once we get you out, we’ll have a window of one hour, give or take, depending on the time of day, before someone notices you’re gone. An additional twenty minutes before they notice I’m gone. And another fifteen until they put two and two together and sound the alarm on the both of us.”
I shake my head because I’m just not sure … There are so many holes … And it’s unbelievably complicated. Also …