“There’s quite a nice little library in the sitting room, did you see? I found a history of Deepfire; it’s fascinating.”

“Oh.” Maya hesitated. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“Fine!” Beq clicked a dial on her spectacles, and a lens flipped over. “Feeling remarkably good, actually.”

“That’s … good.” Maya waited a heartbeat, then shrugged. “Well. If you’re okay—”

“It’s not—I mean—” Beq shook her head, then stepped out of the doorway. “Do you want to come in?”

“If I’m not interrupting your reading.”

Beq gestured Maya to one of the chairs and took the one opposite, pulling her feet up to perch on the edge.

“About … last night,” Beq said, pushing her spectacles up her nose. “I drank too much. Obviously. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Maya said. “I think everyone was … relaxed.”

“I mean I’m sorry you had to take care of me.” Beq looked down at her hands. “You seemed like you were enjoying yourself, and then I dragged you away.”

“Look, it’s all right,” Maya said. “Honestly.”

“But—” At Maya’s warning glare, Beq subsided. “Okay. I’m also sorry if I said anything … stupid. You can probably ignore it. I don’t have a lot of experience being drunk.”

“I gathered that.” Truth be told, Maya didn’t either; she’d had her share of wine and beer at village festivals, but always under Jaedia’s watchful eye. “I don’t remember anything too embarrassing.”

“That’s good,” Beq said, looking genuinely relieved. “I’m … I’ll be more careful next time.”

“And you really feel okay?”

“More or less?” she said. “A little stiff, maybe, but that could be the bed. It’s too soft for me.”

Some people, Maya thought, rubbing her own still-throbbing head. Oh well.

“Listen,” Maya said. “I … found something, last night.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Something I wasn’t supposed to see.” Maya’s hand tightened on the letter in her pocket. Here goes nothing. “I think it’s the letter Tanax brought for Raskos.”

Beq blinked, and there was a long silence.

“How?” she said after a moment. “It should have been ciphered.”

Maya let out a breath. At least she’s not turning me in to Tanax yet. “Raskos copied out the plaintext. He thought he’d burned it afterward, but he didn’t manage to, and I … picked it up.”

“That’s careless of him.” Beq’s eyes were bright with curiosity, and Maya relaxed a little further. “Let’s see it, then.”

Maya unfolded the letter and handed it over, and explained the conversation she’d heard along with it, about the assault on the rebels. Beq frowned, peering closer at the letter.

“It explains what we’re doing here, anyway,” Maya concluded. “And why Raskos wasn’t pleased to see us. We’re not here to help him, we’re here as a threat, or at least Tanax is.”