“I’m sure you can get the marriage annulled when you get there,” Jed murmured, his voice quiet and matter-of-fact, as if this wasn’t the biggest con of David’s life.

David didn’t answer. The old woman led the way into the tent city, her granddaughter, Amari, his unexpected bride running ahead and disappearing into the crowd.

David’s thoughts were already spinning. He needed to figure out how to get to Kip before the gates opened in the morning. The Cinderbone was supposed to be ready—Kip’s note had said so. That was his real focus. Not the marriage. Not the papers. The Cinderbone.

And now, he might be able to take it and run. Not hold up his end of the bargain. He’d never seen Kip again.

He hadn’t told anyone he’d bargained for a Cinderbone. Not even Grace.

Especially not Grace.

The old woman halted beside a lean-to. Amari had beat them there. She sat curled into herself on a boulder. Her hands clutched her knees, her eyes squeezed shut. Her shoulders rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths, and he felt an unexpected surge of sympathy.

“She’ll have to leave you,” David said, turning to the grandmother. “But I’ll get her to the Sanctuary. And Grace too.” They didn’t have to like each other to make it work.

The old woman reached out a hand and seized David’s forearm, her grip like a hawk’s, fingers digging in like talons. “You will protect her with your life. You will see her safely there.”

He would. Of course he would.

He’d already decided that. This wasn’t about love. This was about survival. This was about freedom.

“I will,” he said.

“Swear it,” she whispered. Her dark rheumy eyes swam as they peered into his.

“I swear it on my life,” David said.

The words felt wrong coming out of his mouth, and an uncanny feeling swept over him.

He wouldn’t have to make that sacrifice.

Would he?

The woman withdrew, an expression of satisfaction on her face.

“I’ll find a Monitor,” Jed said. “Let him know he’s got work to do.”

“Will you bring Grace, too?” David said, tearing his eyes off the woman with some effort.

“And Susan. She won’t want to miss this.”

Jed was still smirking, and David’s lip twisted in a grimace.

“It’s not funny,” he growled.

“I don’t want to do this.”

The words came from the thief.

The girl, as she appeared now, small and fragile as she wrapped her arms around herself.

It was the first she’d spoken since they’d arrived at the lean-to. The words sliced the air clean open. Amari stared him down, hate plain in the lines of her face, and David flinched.

“I’m not a goat to be herded off to the highest bidder,” she spat. “I don’t want to go to the Sanctuary. Not with you.”

David knelt beside her, trying not to flinch when she recoiled.

“You get to live,” he said quietly. “It’s a marriage in name only. It’s a better life.”

The red scarf covered her mouth, but her dark eyes blazed with furry. She lifted her gaze to the woman. “I won’t go without her.”

“You’ll go,” the woman said firmly. “You will be dishonored and forgotten if you stay.”

Amari blinked, and moisture pooled in her eyes. “Mema,” she whispered.

David almost told her it would be okay. But it wouldn’t be. Not for her. Not for him. Not for anyone. He steeled himself and silenced the compassionate part of him. The weak part. He didn’t need to be her friend. He needed her to give in.

“You’ll get to safety,” he said. “You get to live.”

She spun on him, her eyes narrowing to slits. “You think I don’t know who you are?” she hissed. “Enforcer 22. You treat me like I’m no better than the sewage we drain into the fields. E22.”

She spat his title like a swear word. David’s anger rose, and he fought back the urge to defend himself, to remind her she was the one breaking the law.

But he didn’t want to fight with her. He’d beg if he had to, grovel at her feet. “We got off on the wrong foot,” he said.

“Ha!” she laughed, and she stood up, fists clenched. “I’d rather die than be your wife!”

“Amari!” her grandmother snapped, but David knew the old woman couldn’t force her.

His chances of getting out of here were slipping through his fingers. He had to change her mind. “Please, Amari,” he said, and he dropped to his knees at her feet. “I’m doing this for my sister. Please. Don’t make her suffer for my wrongs.”

“David!”

As if on cue, Jed appeared on the pathway with Susan, Grace, and the Monitor. Grace’s high, young voice rang out between them. David held out his arms, and Grace bolted into them, hugging him, smiling despite the dust on her face and the purple rings under her eyes. She turned around and studied Amari.

“Is this your wife?”

“Almost,” David said, keeping his eyes on Amari. Holding his breath. Waiting for her response.

Amari studied Grace. She looked at David and let out a shuddering gasp. The anger in her face melted away, exposing a frightened, vulnerable young woman. A tear leaked from one eye, then from the other, tracking through the gray ash on her face, revealing copper-toned skin beneath the layer of dirt.

She was nothing like the arrogant girl who punched him in the gut that morning.

David gave Grace a squeeze. “A moment, Gracie, okay? Go stand with Jed and Susan.”

“All right,” Grace whispered, and she hopped back over to Susan.

He turned back to Amari, pressing his palms together and touching his index fingers to his chin. “I need this. I need to save her. I’ll do anything. Whatever you want. Just—help me get her out of here.”

“I don’t want to marry you,” Amari whispered, tilting her head as she regarded him.

He held her gaze. “It’s not a real marriage. We’ll annul it at Sanctuary. We’ll be free. You’ll be free.”

“What if they don’t let us?”

“Then we go our own way. You’ll never have to see me again.”

She met his eyes, the tears drying up, her gaze hardening. “You will not touch me. I will not be your woman.”

The words came out like daggers, harsh, demanding, and reminding David that he hadn’t so much as kissed a girl since he was sixteen years old.

“Uh—” His voice cracked, and his face flamed. “No. No, of course not. You won’t. It won’t be like that.”

She turned away from him, saving him from his embarrassment.

“I’ll do it.” Amari’s eyes tracked toward Grace. “I’ll do it for her.”