Zoe POV

There are no guards outside Vark's door.

I notice this before anything else—the absence of it, the empty stretch of corridor on either side, no stationed warrior, no Vincent with his composed efficiency. Vark didn't want witnesses to this particular hour. I understand why within the first few seconds of standing here, because through the door comes Chloe's voice, and it is nothing like the warm, searching voice she uses in daylight.

She says his name like a ...