I woke late, as I had often done since that first night in the Valley of Rulers, but I smelled no brewing tea, nor any porridge, nor boiled eggs, nor fried dough. No servants scurried about preparing my apartments for the day.
“Khin?” I called.
He did not answer. I dressed and went to the door. My breath came quick and heavy, and my heart had begun to pound. The door was locked. I felt the weight of a wooden beam barring it shut. I shook the handle and heard the rattle of a chain.
“Khin!” I shouted. “What is the meaning of this?”
My tattoo itched beneath its bandage.
No. It had been less than a night. How could they possibly know?
“Khin!” I shouted into the gap of the door frame. Had he kept track of my comings and goings, reported back to Alabaster and Cinder and Rill? I imagined
