“Ah, my daughter, my child. You have finally listened to the will of Ingoka and returned to the path of obedience.” He held out his arms as if expecting a hug. “I am so glad I will get to see you in what may be my final days.”

“Um.” The nurse glanced at Nya in confusion.

“It is okay,” she said. She wasn’t even angry. She knew what her father was like, and still she had come. Still she’d thought that maybe she would detail the pain he’d caused her, and he’d repent, and, like a pumpkin turning into a carriage, would transform into a father who was good and kind and loved his daughter without trying to break her. She remembered what Johan had said.

I don’t know if you can ever really hurt a man like that.

He’d been right. He’d also been right that, sometimes, happily-ever-afters don’t exist. She thought of how Johan had envied her openness and her ability to say what she felt. She thought that maybe he’d learned from her, even if they weren’t meant to be together. Well, she’d learned from him, too. She’d learned that sometimes a lie was what would protect you from being crushed by the weight of your pain. She’d learned that lying was another tool picked up on a quest, and this tool could help her vanquish this final monster.

“Hello, Father,” she said softly, inclining her head to show respect. “I am so sorry that I strayed from the path you have tried to guide me on for so long. But I am here now.”

“It is okay, my child,” Alehk said, eyes gleaming as he took in his victory.

“It is not okay, Father. As you said in your letter, I have dishonored both you and Mother with my actions.” She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes.

He took her by both hands; what should have been a loving gesture seeming like manacles closing around her. She resisted the initial urge to tug her hands away.

“Well, now you are home and everything will be all right. And I have spoken with some people, those who still respect me, and they can get you an apartment close to the prison. That way you can come visit me every day, as a good child would.”

“Yes, Father,” she said, the grip of his hands and the knot in her throat making her feel like the frail woman who had always given in to his will.

How had she lived her life this way for so long? How had she swallowed her hopes and desires to appease this man’s ego, which would never be satisfied?

“And that way, I will know you are safe,” he said, squeezing her hands more tightly. Nya’s throat muscles worked. She still loved him, as much as she detested him, and she remembered long, long ago when hand-holding and praise from her father had been her world.

“Yes. I need your guidance, Father,” she said meekly. “You were right about how awful it would be out in the world. I was so naive. I was deceived by so many people. I hate to tell you this, but . . .” Nya took a deep breath. “I lost all of my money. I had to sell everything in our home.”

“What?” Alehk said, his grip on her hands loosened and she slipped them away, wiping them on her dress before pressing them together in supplication.

“Oh yes. I wish you hadn’t done wicked things and been sent to prison. Now I have nothing. You have nothing.”

“Why would you do such a foolish thing, girl?” His voice was no longer an agonized whisper. It was harsh with disbelief.

“Why, Father, you know that I am silly and weak and can’t do anything on my own. You’ve told me this my whole life.” She glanced up at him with wide eyes, watching him mentally scramble. “I don’t understand why you would get locked away in prison and leave me alone if you knew that. It’s almost like you wanted me to suffer. Is that what you wanted?”

Alehk grimaced. “Only Ingoka decides who suffers and who doesn’t. If you are suffering it is because you have caused her offense.”

“Is that why you are in prison, Father?” she asked. “Because you have offended Ingoka?”

“No,” he said vehemently. “It is because my enemies have conspired against me. But Ingoka also rewards suffering.”

Nya tilted her head. “Father, are you saying that if I behave wickedly, and suffer for it, I will be rewarded?”

“Ah! My heart!” Alehk clutched his chest, his face suddenly pinched with agony. It took everything in Nya not to give in to panic.

He’s lying. He wants to hurt you.

Her father panted. “I have such a short amount of time left, you know. The doctors told me that I could die any day now.”

There was the pivot, once he’d tied himself into hypocritical, nonsensical knots.

“The same doctor who told Grandmother about your collapse?” she asked sweetly. “I’d like to talk to this person.”

“He is on vacation now, my child.” He sighed. “I have money so don’t worry too much about what you have lost.”

“Hidden money?” Her stomach lurched as she remembered all the things he had refused to reveal to the authorities.

“Yes. The information is in the chest with your mother’s wedding dress,” he said in a low voice, as if he hadn’t defiled his wife’s memory by using that dress as a cache for his traitorous profits.

“Oh no. I sold that chest, Father.”

Alehk Jermami shot up to a seated position. “What?”