He wondered why she’d never mentioned her mother before, or if she’d just decided, this day, that she trusted him enough.
Nina picked at her fingernails; her eyes flitted to the ceiling as though searching for something—resolve, perhaps. “I’m telling you, because you have something that can free her, as well as your own father.”
Patrick frowned. “Of course I’ll—”
“I’m not talking about tunnels,” she said, impatient now. “Patrick, I’m talking about the Alchemist. Domelius Becker.”
Patrick stilled. He saw the direction of her thoughts without her needing to speak them. “Nina—”
“He can be traded, Patrick. There is nothing more important to the House of Lords than idium. Give them their Alchemist, and Tanner will give you every last prisoner, our parents included.”
But already, Patrick s
