A clear night settled on Bradford, and, since the balls and trades and magical demonstrations were all finished and done with, it was a quiet one. Already, the season’s maroons, blacks and golds had withdrawn into warm dens and living rooms, carrying with them laughter, stories, and good conversation. Now only the depraved and the criminal walked the city’s dark streets or, more accurately, prowled its icy rooftops.

  After leaping over an alleyway, Huan landed on the next rooftop and rolled, killing his momentum. Behind him, Sioned’s unfairly long legs carried her over that same alleyway and let her alight next to him with nary a skid. She was here, on Granite’s order, to “assist” Huan, although both she and Huan understood she was actually here to make sure he didn’t do anything foolish after running into his sister at the boathouse.

  Huan’s lips curled. I don’t need minding.

  The beast rumbled agreement.

  The boathouse hadn’t been his fault. It was Granite who had sent him to shadow the cargo, and, while it had been foolish to reveal himself, it was Granite’s job as crew leader to make sure there wasn’t a trail for Mei to follow. Huan had pointed this out, Delma had violently disagreed, but Kay had headed off the fight by pointed out that Huan had stolen the evidence and pointed Mei at the wrong person, and so Huan got off easy.

  Walking to the edge of the roof, Huan looked down at tonight’s target.

  Sioned joined him. She scowled. “That’s Sanford. Why are we here?”

  “I got to snag that Key.” Sanford’s yard was a mess. What was that idiot steward doing? “Granite really wants it.”

  Sioned crossed her arms. “Granite said go to the Plague District.”

  “And I will.” Huan slid into the shadow of a chimney. “But I’d prefer to do it the easy way, instead abiding by her ridiculous plan.”

  Aside from the yard, Sanford was looking much better now than it had when Huan had left: the drive was spotless, the door freshly painted, and the gate now bore a banner of the Kalan emblem, a river delta done in gray.

  Why are there so many lights? There’s only three…

  Odette Montes appeared in an upstairs windows.

  What?

  It got worse. Lady Pol appeared in the den, sifting through papers and drinking a mug of something hot she’d gotten from the steward who was handing another mug to Magdala buxing Gallus.

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  Why isn’t she in her dorm? And where’s Dwayne?

  A black carriage clattered and rumbled up the street then halted in front of Sanford. Dwayne emerged on the far side, an impossibly tall pile of books in his arms.

  Huan licked his lips. Finally.

  “You’re really doing this?” asked Sioned.

  “Just watch.”

  No one inside the house had seen Dwayne arrive yet. All Huan had to do was jump to him, grab the License Key, and then jump back out. Huan readied the red-handled knife.

  The beast growled.

  “Umm, Sky?” Sioned’s voice was high. “She’s here.”

  Among those who worked for Granite, there was only one “she”. When Huan turned around to face her, her weapon was trained on both he and Sioned and her new indigo cloak, more thick enough for the coming winter, flapped in the breeze

  “Don’t move,” said Mei.

  The beast tried to come forward, to disobey, to defy, but Mei’s rifle was suddenly aimed right at Huan’s chest. The beast froze.

  “Don’t. Move,” repeated Mei.

  Huan eased the beast back. I’ll handle this.

  He smiled and pulled his hands away from his knives. “Little sister, going for a stroll on the rooftops?”

  Mei’s rifle swung to Sioned. “Don’t.”

  Sioned took her hand away from her knife.

  “Look.” Huan took a step forward. “You don’t-”

  “I fire, they come.” Four words had never sounded so cold. “Why are you here?”

  Easy lie. “For you.”

  Mei’s expression thawed a bit, and hope, that same treacherous thing that had made him reveal himself at the boathouse, blossomed again.

  She is Dwayne’s best asset.

  The beast rumbled. She won’t come.

  She might.

  She won’t.

  “Sky,” only Sioned’s eyes moved, “what are you doing?”

  “She knows our names, Sioned. We can drop the act.” Huan shrugged. “And if she wanted to, she could have taken both of us out.”

  Mei’s expression cooled again. “Tell me who Granite is. Tell me what she wants.”

  Ah that was bad. Mei didn’t believe Huan’s lie.

  Deflect. “We’ll tell you everything if you come with us.” Huan spread his hands. “Surely working with Dwayne and Lady Pol has to be limiting, what with their books and theories. What you want is forest canopies and wide blue skies, the hunt, the chase. The role of Law doesn’t fit you, little sister.”

  Mei’s icy veneer cracked and pain leaked out. “I don’t care about the law.”

  “Then don’t let it get in your way. Look,” Huan took another step towards her, “I’m sorry I didn’t explain this before, but, with the money Granite is paying me, I found have a way for us to get away from all this. We’ll go to Vanuria where neither the Empire nor Soura can reach us. We’ll be free, a family.”

  Come on.

  Huan’s words warmed and wormed their way into Mei’s mind, which considered each one, one by one.

  Come on.

  She had to want this, the simple life before the jungle, before Yumma, before Huo Luo fortress. She couldn’t want this staid urban life. She couldn’t.

  Come on.

  Any moment now, that yearning would convince her to say-

  “No.” Mei took two steps back and trained her rifle on Huan. “You should come with me. You’ll be safe that way.”

  Growling, Tiger shouldered a surprised thief aside. “You ungrateful wretch!”