“Can you read them?”

“Not easily. But I checked the archives to see who was allocated those codes in particular. They definitely all came from Nicomidi.”

“If Nicomidi was working with Raskos all along—”

“Shhhh,” Beq said frantically.

There was a long silence.

“So what are you going to do?” Maya said.

“I don’t know,” Beq said. “I should burn the things, or find a way to turn them over to the Council. But …” She swallowed. “I want to help you, Maya. It’s wrong that they’re keeping you in here. Even if you disobeyed Tanax. Raskos was corrupt, and Tanax wasn’t going to do anything about it! And—”

“Shhhh.” Maya let out a deep breath. “Thank you, Beq.”

“I feel stupid,” Beq said. “You’re the one in a cell for treason, and I come to you for help. But I don’t know what to do.”

“Is there any chance you can decode the letters?”

“It’s possible,” Beq said. “The codes should be on file in the master archive. It’ll take time to track them all down, though.”

“That’s the first thing we need to do, then,” Maya said.

“You don’t want me to go to Baselanthus?”

“I’m not sure how much Basel can do,” Maya said. “If we know what Nicomidi and Raskos were talking about, we’ll have more leverage.”

“Okay.” Beq pulled away from Maya and took a deep breath. “I’ll do it as fast as I can.”

“Will you be able to get in and see me again?”

“Not for a while,” Beq said. “But I should be able to send a note. I have a friend on the kitchen staff.”

Maya perked up. “Could you send me a book?”

“I can try,” Beq said. “What do you need?”

“A copy of the Inheritance, to begin with.”

“Really?” Beq stuck out her tongue. “Haven’t you studied it enough? I certainly have.”

“The basic rules of the Order are in there,” Maya said. “I want to see if there’s anything about … treason, I guess, and how the trial might go.” She shook her head. “I need to get out of here, one way or another.”

“I’ll try,” Beq said. She got to her feet, looking over her shoulder at the guards. “I’d better go.”

“Beq—” Maya stood up, a little too fast. Beq paused, her beautiful eyes too big through her golden spectacles, wisps of green hair escaping her braid. She looked worried and harried and achingly beautiful.

“What?”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Oh.” Beq looked down, flushing a little. “I … when we were on the mission, I thought …”

Maya waited, hardly daring to breathe.

“Never mind,” Beq said, her voice rising to a squeak. “I’ll be back. As soon as I can. And I’ll get those books. If I can. And—”