Mercer reached Keston's town house as the first pale light spread across the rooftops. He didn't knock. Keston never locked the door until night, and this morning he sat at the kitchen table in yesterday's clothes with a cup of cold tea in front of him. He hadn't slept either.
"You went to Renner," Keston said without looking up.
"How did you know?"
"The seal. The way you left last night. I've known your face since you were twelve, Mercer. I know what it looks like when you're chasing something."
Mercer set Elena's new letter on the table and slid it across. "Read the last line."
Keston picked it up. His eyes moved down the page, and his hand began to shake at the bottom. He read it twice, then lowered it slowly.
"She wrote this nine days ago," Mercer said. "She told me not to trust
