I should be exhausted. The last sleep I had was not restful, nor was it very long. And because of how deep underground we are, I can only use mealtimes as a queue for what time it is.

After dinner, Casimir took me back to the room in the east wing, pestering me about what Trina had talked to me about. I told him she was asking me about Samu and what he was like as a child, which he believed. He left soon after, promising to talk to his mother again about getting me out of the mission.

He'll be so angry if he finds out that I lied, but he's lied our entire friendship. As I lie atop the bed, staring at the cracked ceiling, I shove away the tiny seed of regret festering inside me. I had no choice. Trina won't let me in on the deserters if I don't do this, if I don't prove myself, whatever that means. If blackmail is what she needs to trust me, it's my only option.

The deserters are my only chance into the Palace. And I'm theirs.

Trina said they would come for me, but so far, it's been dead silent. The only thing cutting me off from the dark, narrow passageway is a tatty white sheet. I keep my eyes trained on it as I change into the clothes in the top drawer as Trina instructed. They're much more fitted than the ones Casimir had given me, and I feel slightly uncomfortable as I fasten the trousers. They hug my hips and cinch in at the waist. I'm grateful to find a black cape, similar to the one I used to go into the forge, and throw it over my shoulders, shielding my body.

I settle back onto the lumpy bed, picking up the weapon I chose. I turn the dagger over in my hands, running my finger along its length. A year ago, I would have had no idea what to do with this. Now, thanks to Casimir, feeling the rough leather hilt against my palm provides me with comfort.

"You're going to use that?"

I jolt, spinning to the entrance to see Jax. He's dressed similarly to me, all in black with a long cape.

"Yeah."

"There are bigger weapons, you know."

"I know."

There was a cross bow, an axe, and a couple of other weapons with large blades that I'd never even seen before. And judging from the expression on Jax's face as he stares at the small dagger, he thinks I should've taken one. But I was never taught how to use those.

"Whatever," he says, turning his body slightly. "Come on."

"You're coming?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go off on your own, did you?"

I swallow, averting my gaze to the ground as I push off the bed. Sliding the dagger into the sheath at my thigh, I wipe my hands on the cape and follow Jax thought the passage. His hair is shaved to his scalp, revealing a pinched scar running from beneath his cloak, up his neck, right into his hairline.

I don't know what I'd expected when Trina mentioned this mission, but I'm less than pleased that Jax is accompanying me. It isn't hard to tell from the way he looks at me that he doesn't trust me. And I don't count on him to have my back.

We don't pass anyone as we wind through the maze-like halls, taking various routes and turns. I try to memorise the way we've come, just in case, but I can't keep track after the fourth corner we round. It's dark, damp, and the ceilings are so low Jax has to walk hunched over. But every passage we enter looks the same. Eventually, the ground transitions from stone to gravel, and the area widens, our footsteps echoing. We've entered the tunnel, and at the end, the ladder I must've come down on the way. I peer up—it stretches further than I can see in the dark. And even though I've already gone down it, my stomach clenches at the fatal height.

"Put this on," Jax says, handing me a thin, black piece of fabric.

I step back, glaring at the blindfold. "No way."

"It wasn't a request." He waves it in front of my face. "The whole point of this is so you don't go home and tell everyone exactly where we're located."

"I would never do that."

"And I'm supposed to just believe you? Put this on or stay down here, I don't care, but I have a mission to complete and you're wasting time."

I grit my teeth, letting him slip it over my eyes. The loss of my vision is briefly disorientating as my other senses take over—Jax's cold hands as he guides mine to the rungs of the ladder, the distant methodical drip of water somewhere in the tunnel, the smell of iron. I take a shaky breath, almost wishing I hadn't seen how high the ladders stretched and start climbing. I can hear Jax clambering up behind me.

At least if I fell, I'd take us both down.

I finally reach the top, my hand burying in a mound of dirt as I reach for the next rung. I haul myself over, landing on my hands and knees, and push to my feet, reaching back for the blindfold.

"Not yet," Jax scolds, swatting my hands away. He grabs my arms, and we move forward.

Even with the blindfold, the forest settles the anxiety brewing in my stomach. The wind rustles across my skin, azu call to one another from the trees, nestling into their hiding spots for the night. As Jax guides me over a fallen trunk, I think of Samu—the games we used to play amongst the trees as the sun started to set before it got dark.

After a couple more minutes, low voices waft toward us. I tense, but Jax continues forward without a word. We come to a stop a few minutes later, the voices closer this time, muffled slightly by the wind. They quieten as we stop walking.

"Really, Jax? A blindfold?"

Killian.

"Trina insisted."

"Of course she did." I can hear the rolling of eyes in his voice.

Before I can say anything, his fingers brush against the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine. I still as he loosens the knot, slipping it away from my eyes. It's pitched black in the clearing we've stopped in, but it's not just me and Jax.

A woman stands leaning against one of the trunks, her dark features concealed mostly by her hood as she fiddles with a metal contraption. My chest tightens—a gun, just like the one Casimir had. I recognise the clearing from the way the trees are tilted—it's the section just before the forge. It was flattened by a storm a couple of years ago, so all the trees slant slightly towards the mountains.

I turn my head slightly, meeting Killian's gaze. "You're coming with us?"

"Somebody has to make sure you stay alive," he murmurs, the ghost of a smile crossing his face.

I can't lie that his presence doesn't somewhat ease the budding nerves in my chest. I don't know if it's because I've known him longer, or because of the fluttering in my stomach at his gaze, but there's something about him that provides me with a sense of security amongst the rest of the deserters.

"This is Jessenia," Jax says, gesturing to the girl. She barely acknowledges me, looking bored as she taps the gun. Jax leans over and swipes up a black sack from the ground, swinging it over his shoulder. "Let's get going. We have to be back before dawn."

I take a shaky breath, falling into step behind Jessenia. Killian walks behind me so silently I almost forget he's there entirely. Despite all my sneaking around this past year, I have nothing on the three of them. They move as if they can predict the crunch of each leaf.

"Are we going to the forge?" I ask.

"Your favourite night-time attraction," Killian says from behind me.

I glance at him over my shoulder. "So that's how the deserters found out about me. When they saw me in the forge."

"Deserters haven't been to the forge in months," Jax interrupts. "We don't go there unless there's a mission."

"But I ran into them—"

"Whoever you ran into, they weren't deserters," Jax says. "We only knew about you when Killian told us."

I glance at him.

He shrugs. "People in Veymaw talk, especially so close to the Red Moon." I remember that first day in class, when he hadn't looked twice at me. The next day, I attracted his gaze like a magnet. "Which is why, as you know, Casimir wasn't too happy about my appointment as an informant."

"Because he knew you'd find out about me?"

"And his lie would be exposed," Jessenia chimes in. All three of them halt, so I follow suit. The trees rustle to our left.

"I'll check it out," Killian says, nodding at Jessenia. He seeps into the darkness, the shadows engulfing him until we can no longer see him.

Jessenia moves forward again.

"What about Killian?" I ask. "Should we wait for him?"

Jax doesn't turn around when he answers. "He'll find his way back to us."

I don't say anything as we move through the under bush. The moon grins down at us, silvery light cascading through the trees. Ahead of me Jessenia and Jax are barely visible, their black clothing blending in with the dark night. My heart thumps with each step. We're so close to the forge the perpetual fog has rolled in, hanging so low the tops of the trees aren't visible. In the distance, I can hear shouting—a brawl, no doubt.

I've walked this path hundreds of times. I've visited the forge religiously. But still, my stomach coils in anticipation, fear drawing it's cool, sharp nail down the centre of my spine. I have no idea what I'm walking into.

Ahead of us, the thick fog glows a warm yellow, the dirt transitioning to uneven cobblestones. The shouts a closer now. We linger on the edge, tucked in the treeline before the clearing that widens to a narrow alleyway. Jessenia and Jax kneel, concealing themselves behind one of the trunks. I follow their lead, settling in a crouched position. Killian lowers to the ground beside me, eyes narrowed as they cut through the thick fog.

"Don't move," she murmurs to me. She turns on her heel, disappearing amongst the trees ahead. Jax races after her, and for a moment, I'm alone.

My heart skips a beat.

I could run. I'm fast, maybe not faster than the two of them, but I'd have a head start. Maybe I'd be able to make it back to Veymaw. There'd be no way they'd chase me there, right? I turn around, taking a small step on the path we came along, my head and my heart warring against one another. But I don't get far.

"Going somewhere?"