Chetal pursed her lips. She had to play this cool. If she freaked out or tried to interrogate Kiara, the kid might just bolt.

"Can you show me where you saw them?" Chetal asked quietly.

Kiara took her to the spot, a few roofs over, just above Princess Ara's balcony.

"They went down here," she said.

"And do you remember where they climbed onto the roof from?"

Kiara pointed halfway across the roof. Chetal made her way to the spot and peeked down. The wall this side was smooth and featureless, except for a window, with a ledge above it. Just like the bathroom window Chetal had climbed out of. Hm.

She turned to Kiara. "Kiara, can you do something for me?"

Kiara nodded.

"I'm going to check this window. If you hear me shouting, or sounds of a fight, or see someone get out of the window, run down into the palace and tell the guards, okay?"

Kiara's eyes went wide. "Are you really going to go there alone?"

Chetal didn't trust the palace guards, but she'd have liked to have Jin or Tenali with her. Or Inharat. But Jin was gone who-knew-where, and it would take too much time to summon Tenali again, who probably wasn't athletic enough to climb down windows anyway. And every interaction with Inharat felt dangerous, like she was on the verge of being discovered.

Chetal patted Kiara's head. "I have you as my lookout, don't I? I'll be fine."

"Wait. One of them dropped something," Kiara said.

She handed Chetal a flat wooden card. It was painted, and the word 'Vanish' was engraved at the bottom. A sooth card, used by shapers. Like the ones Jin used.

What the hell.

Chetal tried not to show her shock. "Thanks. Wait for me, okay?"

She climbed down onto the ledge, and then swung through the open window. Kiara's gasp above broke the quiet of the night.

Chetal landed in another washroom, except this one had a thick layer of dust over everything. Two pairs of bootprints had disturbed the dust on the floor. They tracked from the washroom door to the window.

Chetal opened the door and made her way through, careful to avoid stepping over the prints.

The attached room was a carbon copy of the secret room Inharat had put up Chetal in. Except white sheets draped all the furniture, and dust indicated that no one had been here in a long time.

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The prints abruptly came to an end in the middle of the huge room.

This made no sense. Had the assassins somehow flown into here? But then why not fly the entire way? A shaper could've gotten them in through a portal, perhaps. But then why not portal directly into Princess Ara's room?

The undisturbed stretch of dust beyond the bootprints hid the answer to what looked like an impossible murder.

"It's interesting, isn't it?"

Chetal whirled around. Jin stood next to the washroom door, leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

Her surprise quickly changed to annoyance. "You left me to be discovered. Tenali instantly knew I wasn't Princess Ara," she said.

"How did that go?" he asked, unfolding his arms.

"How do you think it went? I almost had a heart-attack. Had to tell him everything. Thankfully, he seems to be on our side for now."

Jin pushed against the wall and walked to her. "I knew Tenali would find out. He's too sharp to not notice."

"What? Why not warn me then?"

"This must be done a certain way, Chetal. An explanation will be coming soon. Just not now."

Chetal thought over her next words carefully. "I have a question."

"I assume it's about how the assassins got here. There is a logical answer. But again, I can't-"

"It's not about that."

Jin's eyebrow went up. "Oh. What is it about then?"

"Did you...did you kill Princess Ara?"

Jin pursed his lips. "Now that is an interesting question," he replied.

Chetal held up the sooth card. "One of the assassins dropped this on the roof."

"And you think it belongs to me?"

"I'm asking you."

The air in the room grew tense in the ensuing silence.

Then Jin smiled, and pulled out a card from his belt. Chetal turned her eyes away, afraid he'd show her a card to kill her.

"Relax. If I wanted to kill you, I had many opportunities. You can look at the card," he said.

Chetal shot the card in his hand a quick glance. Another 'Vanish' card. Oh.

"I still have mine. The one in your hand belongs to a different shaper."

Chetal considered his expression. "And you know who it belongs to, don't you?"

"Yes. But enough questions. I believe there's a kid waiting for you on the roof, who's growing increasingly nervous and is about to run to the guards. We don't want that to happen."

"She didn't see you, did she?" Chetal asked.

"Of course not. Or she'd already be halfway to the palace guards."

Chetal offered the assassin's 'Vanish' card to Jin.

He pushed it back to her. "Keep that. It might come in use."

"How? I'm not a shaper."

He gave her a small smile. "Aren't you?"

Chetal just stared at him. Was this a joke?

"Quickly now. The kid grows restless."

He shepherded her back to the washroom, and helped her get up to the window.

"I'd advise against any more adventures in the night. Get some sleep. Tomorrow is an important day."

"What happens tomorrow?" Chetal asked.

"Tomorrow, you take the life of a child."