Ugh. Right. I cover my face as instructed, and when we’re ready, I follow her out.

We move through the city quietly, walking through what must be a main thoroughfare. Again, I’m reminded eerily of Lios, the empty streets there and the echoing palace. The streets here are empty as well. When we do see someone, they hurry away and keep their distance. Up above us, the occasional Fellian flies overhead, but it’s still far too quiet.

So many doors are marked with red, too. It’s terrifying to see.

“Once the air here was filled with wings,” Tolian says in a low voice. “You would look up and see a hundred people in the air at any time, moving from house to house, or crossing to the harbor. Now it feels abandoned, and I worry the goddess will not stop taking lives until the mountain is completely empty.”

“There,” Riza says, steering me. “The field up ahead.”

We pause near a stone fence, turning to see a field up ahead. It is well-lit, with the bright magical lights studding the fields and giving the pale plants some light to grow by. Walking the rows are human women, their mouths covered as they pick what look like grapes. The women look tired and thin, and their clothing is ragged. As I watch, a woman falls to the ground, only to have a Fellian overseer roughly grab her and haul her to her feet. He shakes a whip in her direction and I have to turn away.

“The women work the fields because there are not enough healthy Fellians to do so,” Riza says in a low voice. “And because the plants here are fragile and growing through false light and not the sun, the fruit and vegetables are puny. A farmer must work twice as hard to get the same amount of food. Now, of course, he has human slaves to do so.”

I purse my lips. “What about…when I was captured, one of the men said that women were serving the Fellians in their beds. That the noblewomen were taken to a district for whores and were being forced to pleasure men for food.”

Her unhappy look tells me everything.

“We are not bad people,” Tolian says. “But the war has soured many hearts on Lios and its people. The king should put a stop to the abuse of the human slaves, but he is silent, and so the worst run rampant with abuse because there is no one to stop them. Many are not inclined to help humans, either. The plague is far reaching. Last night, Fourth House was struck down, and they cast their humans into the streets. I’m sheltering them at Second House, but I worry that the next group of humans will not be so lucky.”

I turn to Tolian. “And how did you decide that this was wrong? How did you come to this when your people seem to think it’s all right?”

He gives me a faint smile and glances over at Riza. “I fell in love.”

That makes me ache all over again because Nemeth fell in love with me, and yet it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough. “All right,” I say, resolute. “What’s the plan?”

Chapter

Eighty

The plan is a simple one, it turns out.

A few humans with connections will go through the city and spread the word of an uprising. That Second House is with them and will be attacking the king. Weapons will be distributed so all can help Second House take control of the palace, and when the king is ousted, things will change in Darkfell.

“There is enough food for everyone,” Tolian says. “And Fellian and human do not have to be enemies. We can live together in peace, but not as things are. Ivornath must be taken from the throne and a new ruler established.”

“You?” I ask.

“If I must,” Tolian replies. “I do not want it, but if there are no other options, then I will serve as best I can.”

More plans are made. I lunch with Riza and her husband, and we discuss guards and how to get past them. I suggest the mushroom potion that Nemeth gave me to sleep. Perhaps if we knock out the guards, we can slip into the palace with little bloodshed.

“That brew only works on humans,” Tolian reminds me. “And it does not matter. We can take the guards. There are only a tenth of the warriors there were before the plague hit. They cannot cover all of the palace. We will attack from multiple sides and storm our way in.”

And once inside…the throne will be taken.

Ivornath will be put to death, but Nemeth is to be spared. I refuse to work with them otherwise. Ajaxi’s fate will be decided by my sister, who has also been plotting with Riza and Tolian.

“When?” I ask.

“Three days from now,” Tolian says. “We must move quickly, before Ivornath gives the order to have the humans purged from Darkfell entirely. With every day that passes and another house falls ill, the risk increases.”

So soon.

That evening, I’m restless with fear. I’ve never participated in a palace coup before. Oh, sure, I disliked Lionel intensely, but as a princess, I’m normally one of those in danger if the powers that be are usurped. This time, though, I’m with the “enemy.”

I’m going to betray the man I love, who might only be pretending to love me. The thought is terrifying. What if something goes wrong and Nemeth is hurt? What if the baby is hurt? I rub my belly. This is more than just breaking out of an empty tower.

This is the forceful taking over of a kingdom.

Nemeth doesn’t return until late, and when he does, he’s tired and wan. He staggers to the bed and flops into it next to me, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“You don’t look so good,” I tell him, worried. Betrayer or not, I love him. “Are you feeling all right?”

“Just exhausted. I spoke with Ajaxi tonight. For hours.” He casts me a wry look. “I told him I was tired of being pushed off. I’m First House as well, and Ivornath should see me. It’s not right that he will only visit with Ajaxi. I know there is fear of plague, but I am his brother, too.”

“What did he say?”

Nemeth grins, and my heart flips. “We have been invited to dine with the king tomorrow, the both of us.”

Finally, we’re getting somewhere. Relieved, I fling my arms around him and hug him tight. Maybe it won’t come to an uprising. Maybe Ivornath will listen to reason.

And if he doesn’t, maybe I find a knife and make him listen.

I’m nervous the next day for the dinner. Nemeth doesn’t leave, so I can’t send a message to Riza. In a way, I’m glad. It feels less like I’m betraying him this way and more like we’re a team once more. We move around in his quarters, pointing out spots that might be good for staircases to be added, and he’s affectionate and sweet, and I feel like the biggest arse in all of Lios.

Has he been on my side all this time? Are Riza’s words lies? But Riza doesn’t have to lie to me. She’s been my family since I was born, even if we’re not related by blood. It fills me with turmoil, and I’m tempted to pick at Nemeth, to pry at him and try to get him to admit to his secrets.

But I’m tired. So tired. So I opt for an easy day instead. We eat together, and nap together, and talk about the future as if nothing has changed. We lie in bed and he puts a hand on my belly, feeling our child kick. And when the dinner hour nears, we prepare.

Nemeth wears his First House regalia, the metal embossed kilt and the finely engraved breastplate. He throws a bright red cloak over his wings, the material sliding down the center of his back like a waterfall. “For show,” is all he says when I arch a brow at him. “Ivornath likes a production.”

Ivornath sounds a bit too much like Lionel for my tastes, but I can put on a show, too. I dig through the case of jewelry that had been brought for me and deck my braid with strand after strand of pearls and gold. My ears are adorned with heavy pendulums of jewels, and I wear more at my throat. My dress is the simple Fellian garb, but I pick out the most ornate-looking shawl and wrap several necklaces around my wrists in makeshift bangles.