With Belladonna out cold, I needed to move fast and Ayu’s advice was good. The quicker we got the information we needed and left, the better. “We were sent to observe, to find out who our king should back if it came to a full out war.”

Ayu shook her head slowly. “There is no real choice, and there will be no war. Requiem has only to wait until his sister dies and then he will have the throne.”

I frowned into my empty cup. “His sister is sick? Why is she not here with you then?”

All three healers turned away. I grabbed Ayu before she could move from me. “Tell me.”

She jerked out of my hand. “No. It is forbidden. Requiem will soon be the king and we must learn to live with his rules no matter how we may hate it.”

Worm shit and green sticks, this was turning out to be more of a mess than even Ash and my father thought. “And the other ambassadors? They were killed by Requiem?”

The other two healers left the room tripping over themselves and each other to get away. Leaving just me, Ayu, and Belladonna. Ayu wiped a hand over her face. “Get away, Ender. Take your ambassador and get out of here as quickly as you can. Do you understand me?”

I nodded; she was right. The visit had been anything but sweet, but I was going to keep it short. “Is she well enough to travel?”

“No, but she won’t die. The wound is stitched together and will take time to heal. Take her, go. And . . . thank you for trying to protect us. Even our own Enders won’t face him now.”

Chills swept through me as Ayu left through a door in the back of the room, the soft click of the latch closing the only sound. I strode to my sister. “Bella, wake up, it’s time to go.”

“Lark, I just want to sleep. Leave me alone.” She flung an arm over her eyes. I grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around her.

“Be quiet. We’re leaving, right now.” I leaned in and scooped her up into my arms, doing my best not to jostle her leg. Still, she moaned and bit her lip, tears tracing down her cheeks. Eyes fluttering open, the gray of the iris dark with pain, she stared up at me. “You didn’t let me die.”

“Why would I do that?” I didn’t look at her as I peered out the doorway. I’d not paid attention to the direction we’d come. I’d been too damned concerned with Bella.

“Because I’m an awful person. Because I am my mother’s daughter.”

I did glance down at her then. “No, you’re not. You’re my sister and no matter what, I will always look out for you. And I choose to believe you would do the same for me.”

She sobbed against my chest. “Lark, I’m so sorry.” The adrenaline rush that came with being injured was leaving her, which only gave way to more tears and blubbering words.

“Shut it. Right now, we have to find our way out.” I stumbled through the hallways until I made it to an open courtyard. A waterway ran on my left, boats bobbing in the dark of the night.

I looked down a cobbled road, eyeing up the route. The sound of waves against rocks drew me to the left. I would follow the waterway back to the docks; that would be the best way. Belladonna wasn’t heavy, but she was a solid girl, and as we walked the fatigue of the day caught up to me. The explosion of my power into the earth, the rowing, the fight with the sharks, and now this—I had taken three wrong turns and had to backtrack, only increasing how long it was taking. My arms shook as I struggled to keep her from tumbling to the pebbled road. I leaned against a wall, breathing hard. “Bella, listen to me. I’m going to put you down. Then I’m going to run and see which direction we need to take. I’ll come back for you, just don’t move. Okay?” I helped her sit between two buildings. Her gray eyes filled with pain and yet I could see the trust in them.

“Lark, we don’t know anything yet!”

I grabbed her face and forced her to look at me. “They tried to kill us both, Belladonna. Would you stay and let them succeed? Requiem is running the show here, and there is nothing we can do about that. I am in charge of your safety and I say it’s time to go.”

“What about the Pit? Fiametta will take you.”

So she knew about that. I let her go and rubbed a hand over my face. “Your life before mine, Ambassador.”

Her eyes widened and she slowly nodded. “Be careful,” she whispered. I stood and sprinted from her. Without the burden of her body weighing me down, I could find our way out. Four quick turns, a dash across an open courtyard, and I was at the docks. No one was moving around outside of their homes, which should have been a good thing. But all I could think was why the hell wasn’t there a single person out and about. It was dark, but not late, surely not past midnight.

Scurrying forward, keeping low to the ground, I reached our boat. Loosening the knots that held it tightly to the shore, I made sure the oars were set up and ready. Satisfied I’d prepped it as much as I could, I bolted back the way I’d come. Across the courtyard, turning right, left, left.

Belladonna was not where I’d put her. “Bella,” I whispered as loud as I dared. I searched the ground where I’d sat her down, and my body grew cold with a certainty. There was no blood trail, which meant she hadn’t gotten up and walked away.

Someone had picked her up and carried her. The scuff of a foot on the stone was the only warning I had. Spinning, I had my spear pointed out as I stepped into the thrust—I saw Dolph’s wide eyes at the last second. I turned my wrist and the blade cut through the air an inch away from slicing through his skull.