I scowled and turned away gladly. A few moments later I heard a splash, followed by Ceren gasping at the cold. I turned around to see his head and bare shoulders floating above the water, his hair fanned out around him on the surface.

“Is it really necessary for you to do this yourself?” Talin asked. “It seems dangerous, and none of my men can remove their armor fast enough to help you should you need it.”

“I wouldn’t go in there if my life depended on it,” one of the guards muttered.

“At least let me take my armor off before you go in,” Talin said, but Ceren brushed off his concern.

“I won’t need help. Boy, hand me the hose and goggles.”

The waters around Varenia were crystal clear, and we were used to opening our eyes underwater, but this lake was murky and dark. The little page tossed the goggles to Ceren. He looked terrified, but it was hard to say if it was the water, Ceren, or the contraption that was scaring him. Probably all three.

Ceren placed the end of the hose in his mouth and took a few breaths to test it. Then he removed the hose for a moment and told Talin to time him before diving under the surface of the water.

One of the guards began to count off the seconds as we watched from the edge of the lake.

“How deep is it?” I asked Talin.

“I have no idea. Ten feet at the most, I’d think. You didn’t see it, but he weighted his feet against the buoyancy.” He thought for a moment. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

“Your brother showed it to me, yes.”

“Where? In his study?”

I bit my lip. Did he suspect my real motives for lurking near there last night? “Yes,” I admitted.

He searched my face. “You’ve been to the flooded bloodstone mine, haven’t you?”

His eyes reminded me so much of home, it made my heart ache. “If you mean the lake in the bottom of the mountain, then yes.” I was only vaguely aware of the guard reaching two hundred.

“He took you all the way down there?”

I hesitated again. I didn’t like to lie, but I couldn’t admit out loud that I’d spied on the Crown Prince of Ilara, especially not to his brother. I gave a curt nod.

“Do you know why my brother created this device?” Talin demanded.

“Yes—to harvest the Varenian pearls for himself.”

I could tell by his reaction that he had already realized this. “I’m surprised my brother would show this to you. He knows it means the end for your people.”

“Our people,” I said, fiercer than I’d meant to. “And yes, he knows. I think he enjoys causing me pain.”

“Sadly, I’m afraid you might be right.”

I knew Ceren’s guards were watching us, but I took a step closer to him, taking in his scent of sunshine, sweat, and horses. “Doesn’t it pain you to think of what will become of them? You’ve seen Varenia now, eaten at our governor’s table. You know my family. You can’t just pretend we don’t exist anymore.”

I watched his profile for a response, but his expression didn’t change. Just when I had almost given up hope, he found my littlest finger in the folds of my skirt and wrapped his own finger around it. It was only a fraction of a moment, but it was a far more intimate response than I’d expected.

Lionfish! my subconscious shouted, and I twitched my hand away from his, but my heart pounded with something other than fear.

“That’s ten minutes,” the guard said. I looked over at the page, who knew that we’d reached the end of the test as well as I did.

“He should surface any moment now,” I said.

Behind me, the guard resumed counting.

A sense of dread washed over me, raising gooseflesh on my bare forearms. “You don’t understand. He hasn’t tested the device for more than ten minutes. He should have surfaced already.”

“He’s probably just showing off,” said the same guard who had vowed not to enter the water.

I looked at the page again, to where his foot rested just inches from the hose, and realized what he’d done.

Talin had begun to remove his leather armor, but I could see immediately that he’d meant what he said earlier—the process would take several minutes, and right now every second counted. I was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Ceren’s death would be the end to all of Varenia’s problems. If he died, Talin would inherit the throne, and while I may not trust him entirely, I did not believe he would cause further harm to his own mother’s people.

And if Ceren lived, he could be affected for life. Who knew how long he’d been without oxygen? I thought of the poor page. He couldn’t be more than twelve years old. Ceren would be so furious and humiliated by all of this... It wouldn’t go well for anyone.

But in Varenia, if someone was in danger, you helped them, unless the risk to yourself was too great. Banishment was the only exception, and that was different. Dangerous criminals couldn’t be permitted to stay in Varenia, and at least they had a chance of survival. But how could I live with myself if I stood by and watched a person drown? Even if that person wouldn’t have done the same for me.

“Damn it!” Talin swore as he tore at one of the dozen buckles on his armor. “Someone do something!”

“Unbutton my gown!” I screamed, presenting my back to Talin. If he wanted his brother alive, there was no time for propriety. “Now!”

      21

   After a moment’s hesitation, Talin unfastened the buttons as fast as he could, and I yanked off the sleeves and stepped out of the dress in my undergarments. Kicking off my slippers, I raced past the stunned guards and dived into the water, reminding myself not to inhale when I broke the surface.

It was the coldest water I’d ever been in, and my entire body screamed in protest. The lake was dark and silty, but my eyes adjusted quickly. I followed the hose down, passing ten feet and realizing that the lake was much deeper than they’d thought. Then I saw Ceren’s hair, waving in the current like a sea fan.

His eyes had rolled back in his head. He was unconscious, but I had no way of knowing if he’d been out for many minutes or one. One of his feet was untied from its weight, but the knot on his other foot was stuck. He must have realized he was running out of air and been unable to free himself. I pulled on his foot with all my strength until it tore free of the weight, then yanked the hose from his mouth and started to haul him upward. My feet were already numb, and for a minute I wasn’t sure I had the strength to get us both back to the surface.

I could let go of Ceren now and easily return to shore. I owed him nothing. He was cruel and selfish. He’d admitted I was nothing to him but a body, just like Mother said. But the truth was that I’d been under less than two minutes. There was no danger for me, not yet. And I had been raised to believe that letting someone die was tantamount to killing him myself.