I smoothed her hair, plucking out the pins so as to let the monstrosity down. “I almost did come to the ceremony, but that would have been a disaster. My friend, Ash talked me out of it.” He stepped out from behind us and gave a bow to her. “Princess.”

Her eyes widened as she looked him over. “He’s another Ender, like you?”

“Yes. Finley, where did Requiem take Belladonna? We’re going to get her and you and escape. Someone else will have to deal with Requiem.” The words sounded cowardly, even to me, even knowing that Requiem would kill us all without a single qualm.

Finley pointed below us. “She’s still at the party. She doesn’t look well, Lark. She’s been very sick since you’ve been gone.”

Ash let out a hiss. “Poison.”

We had to hurry. We’d been separated less than twelve hours, but I didn’t know how long a poison would take. The only thing I could think was Requiem believed if he married Belladonna, and then killed her, he could take my father’s throne. Icy anger crackled through me.

Requiem was about to find out there was more than one way to flay a shark.

“Finley, how many guards are there between here and the . . . party?” I held her hands tightly and didn’t look away while her eyes grew thoughtful.

“Three in the tower, two at the front gate. That’s all I saw. Lark, we can get to her. We can, I think he put her in a small holding room where she can be sick on her own. I can get you there.” Her eyes were bright with hope. I looked to Ash for guidance.

“We don’t have a choice,” I said.

“I know, that doesn’t mean I like it.” He strode to the door and peeked out. “The stairs are wide enough we can fight side by side. Silent and fast, that’s how we’re doing this.”

I took Finley by the hand. “You stay behind us, understand?”

She bobbed her head. “I knew you would come for us.”

I touched her head and then stood and moved to Ash’s side. “Ready.”

He opened the door and we descended the stairway side by side in a fast crouch. The first guard didn’t even turn around, didn’t even suspect he was about to die. I clamped one hand over his mouth and twisted his neck, spinning his body out so Ash could drive his sword through the guard’s heart.

Guard two and three were equally oblivious to us. At the bottom of the stairs, I jogged back up half a flight to where Finley waited. Her face was pale as she stared at the headless corpse of guard number three. “He was always nice to me, even when Requiem wasn’t.” A tear trickled down her cheek.

“I’m so sorry that we have to do this, Finley.” I reached out and brushed the tear away. She nodded. “I know. That’s why you are so good. You don’t want to hurt people. You want to help them.”

Guilt gnawed at me. That may have been true, but I was about to kill another person to get to Bella. Ash motioned me to him. I gave Finley one last touch on the top of her head, then hurried down the stairs to Ash’s side. He put his mouth right against my ear.

“Two guards. You go left.”

I nodded and adjusted my grip on the two daggers, already seeing the move in my head. Overhand downward strike with my right hand driving the blade into the neck, left-handed dagger would come in hard to the kidney. The doors opened inward, and we yanked them fast, leaping through the space.

True to what Finley remembered, there were only two guards.

But they were both Enders.

My first blow to the neck bounced off the spinning machete that deflected it. My left-handed blow did connect, but not in the kidney. The dagger tore through the muscles in his side, pulling a grunt from the Ender, but nothing more. I let myself unbalance and go to my knees. The Ender, Carp I thought his name was, loomed over me, sneering. “You Terralings are so damn weak.”

I hung my head and didn’t look up as I swung with my right hand again, cutting through his hamstring. He went down with a surprised yowl that made me cringe. At least the music and laughter from the party was loud enough that he might not be heard.

Then there was no thought for how loud or quiet we were. Carp came at me like an enraged walrus, limping but still driving me back with the machete’s longer reach. The snarl on his lips said it all. He was furious. I flipped the right dagger up, spun it, caught the handle, and threw it at him. The blade buried deep into his left cheek. He gagged and yanked it out, slicing his face open in the process.

I didn’t wait for him to catch his breath. Leaping, I body slammed him, driving us both to the ground. Not unlike what I’d planned for Ash when I’d climbed onto the balcony. Except Ash had been ready for me. Carp was not.

I landed on his chest and we hit the pebbled road hard. Several of his ribs cracked underneath our combined weight and landing force, the snap of them loud enough to leave no doubt they were broken clean through. I whipped my second dagger out and swept it toward his heart.

“Please don’t kill me, I don’t stand with Requiem,” he bubbled out past the blood and fear. His eyes pled with me, lips smeared red.

“But you do, or you would not have allowed me to be taken. You would have fought for me if you stood with me,” Finley said behind me. I held the dagger steady, the point at the perfect angle that a quick thrust would send it home.

“Princess,” he whispered. “He threatened to kill us all.”

“Cowards. It has taken two Terralings you said were weak and useless to show me bravery comes not in a certain bloodline. But in the strength of one person’s heart.”