Release me. Now. Or I ʻll do the same to him." Mia's face went slack as she realized she'd been tricked. Sabin forced her to her feet, her back against the wall, her wrists still cuffed behind her. "What's going on?" said Eirik, alarmed, reaching up and laying a hand on Sabin's shoulder. "What's she done now?" "I will ask the questions," said Sigrud, advancing toward her with a pair of shackles. "How did you do this? Who are you working with? What was the point of this, other than sheer sadistic fun?" Sabin kept her eyes on the floor, not daring to look up at them, but she laughed her high laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about. There was no _point_ to this," she said, then winced as she felt the point of the knife at her throat. "I knew you would get here. And I knew I would get out. It's so obvious in retrospect." "Is this you, then?" said Sigrud. "You're the one who betrayed me to the Cabal? Why?" "Please," she said, looking up at them with her white, round eyes. "It wasn't me. _You_ did this, all of this. You put the plan in my head, and then you sent me to do the dirty work. You sent me to kill our own people. Because you were trying to _save_ them. But they weren't listening. I tried to tell them that, and do you know what happened?" "Wait a minute," said Eirik. "Wait. You're the mole?" "The mole? Of course I'm not the mole!" said Sabin. "I'm your friend. How dare you?" "This is all lies," said Sigrud. "What is your real name?" "Sabrina," she said. "I'm Sabrina." "You are a traitor, then," said Sigrud. "A traitor and a tool of the Dahab noble houses. You are what you were made to be." "I'm not any of that!" said Sabrina. She held up a hand to ward off Eirik's blade, which would have sliced off her fingers if Eirik had not been holding the blade. "What are you doing?" she cried, as the red, glistening blades of her own fingers came up. "No, you don't! Stop that!" Sigrud held up his hand. "Tell me your real name," he said. "I will never tell you!" said Sabrina. Sigrud stared at her for a moment, then closed his eyes. He brought his other hand out from under his cloak, and he drew the stiletto from his glove. "I will have your name now," he said. He walked over, held the stiletto to her throat, and said, "Tell me your name or I will kill you." " _I don't know!_ " she said, trying to hold back tears. "For all I know, you did this! Maybe your friend the White Duke did this. You say I'm working with the Dahab noble houses, but I don't know who you're talking about! I'm not the one working against you! I'm on your side! Stop it! It's me, Sigrud! It's Sabrina, the friend! Stop it! _Stop it!_ " Sigrud looked at her. Sabin went wild, lashing out with her hands, and though she tried to hold them back, the shackles only allowed her to flail at him. Still, even weakened, he moved like a cat, holding the stiletto with one hand while he grabbed a fistful of her hair with the other. Then he pressed his knife to her throat and said, "Name me the others." "Let go of me!" she screamed. "Your life for your name," said Sigrud. "I can make it quick, or slow, but I will kill you." "Sabrina," she said, crying now. "My name is Sabrina." "Where did you learn to speak all languages, and read languages as well?" said Eirik. "Stop!" she said. " _Stop!_ " Sabrina wailed in Sigrud's arms. He pressed the stiletto in a bit, and she flailed at him with her hands. "Tell me what I want to know or I will snap your neck," he said. Sabrina shook her head. "Are you doing all of this on purpose? All of the Cabal and the _Dahab_? Is that why you killed my friends?" Sigrud paused, and as he did so, she got a good look at his face—the expression upon which the entire weight of the world was upon his shoulders. "Tell me," he said. "You've made a mistake, then," said Sabrina. "You're fighting with the wrong person. You don't need to know my name to stop me, or to fight the Cabal. My people are in a war. If you want to do something about the Cabal, I can help. I can point you in the right direction. I know where _we_ are. I can _get_ you there. I can make you a better place." Sigrud stared at her. "I can save you, then," said Sabrina. "I have the key." "Where is it?" he said. "It's right there," she said, pointing at the shackles. "It's all right there." "Yes," he said. "Tell me the truth, Sabrina," said Sigrud. "All of it. You can tell me the truth." She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Yes," she said. "I can tell you the truth. Everything you need to know. _Everything._ " He took her by the arm. "Then tell me why I'm here." "Because of the Cabal," she said. "Because of them. Because of how they run, who they hurt, and how they made me do it, because of how they made everyone do it. Because I'm not anything, I'm not _anyone_. I'm not a person, not a _human_. But I know what you are, what you need to know. You see? You see how it is? You see? _Everything I do is for you!_ " "How did you escape?" he said. "Tell me." "But you don't have time to hear the story, _how_ I escaped," she said. "You need to move faster. You need to _act_. You don't know what will happen. They have spies. They have traitors." Sigrud turned to Eirik. "Is she telling the truth?" "I'm not sure," said Eirik. Sigrud turned to Mia. "Mia?" "I can't tell from her expression," said Mia. "And you know, if you keep asking, she'll definitely get stronger. She's in a good position right now." Sigrud frowned, then glanced at Mia. "Do you have anything else to say, or is this as far as you go?" "No," said Mia. "She's quite possibly my best interrogator." Sigrud stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "I do not know what to do with you, _Sabrina_." "That's all right, _Sigrud_ ," she said. "I don't know what to do with _me_ either." "I am going to walk away now," he said. "And when I come back, I expect that my interrogation is finished." "Right!" said Sabrina. " _Right!_ When I wake up, I'll tell you everything you need to know, I promise." "I am going to walk away now," said Sigrud, "and I expect that my interrogation is finished." Sabrina glared at him, then said, "If I don't tell you, I'm dead anyway. Why would you care?" He backed up a step, then turned and walked into the shadows. Sabrina watched after him, rubbing her chafed wrists and looking up at the blackness above. "Well," she said. "Well, well." Eirik watched her, watching her back as she turned to face him, the lights glinting off of her glasses. "What is that? What's that saying? Something about 'a watched pot never boils'? I don't know." "Not a pot," said Sabrina. " _Kettle_." "We have a _kettle_?" said Mia. "I suppose it does make more sense," said Eirik. "How does a pot boil when