Casim’s eyes widened a fraction, but he kept his game face on for the most part, which Tavia had to give him credit for. Still, the fear was there and she had seen the slip of it. She had been the one to cause it.

Wesley would be proud of her for that, wouldn’t he?

“Fine,” Casim said. “I’ll send you my buskers and I’ll talk to the other underbosses about where their loyalties lie. Maybe I can convince some of them to help without getting myself killed for treason. But if I’m going to risk my life, then I want something in return.”

Tavia didn’t like where this was going. Deals with underbosses never went well and it was always better to stick to threats instead. That’s what Wesley would have done.

“I want Wesley himself to give me his protection,” Casim said. “I want his promise that he’ll ensure my safety and reward me for my loyalty after all is said and done.”

Tavia felt a headache coming on.

She couldn’t ensure Casim’s safety any more than she could ensure her own, or that of her friends. The plan had always been for Wesley to take Ashwood’s place, because he was the one who could make real change and Tavia knew that everything he’d do, even the awful stuff she’d hate, would be in the best interests of Creije and the rest of the realm. But when he came back, though he’d stand by Tavia and the others, the last priority on his list would be ensuring the safety of another underboss.

Casim didn’t need to hear that right now though. He needed to hear that he was safe.

“Of course you’ll have protection,” Tavia said. “By Wesley himself. It goes without saying.”

She pictured Wesley’s face when he got back and heard about what she’d done. Whether he’d be mad, or just laugh at the idea of being a bodyguard.

Casim smiled. “I’ll be in touch. Look out for my truce.”

And then he disappeared, into the fire and into the wind, leaving only the stale stench of their alliance in the air.

“What are you doing?”

Saxony’s voice was unmistakable.

Tavia turned to see her friend, brows knotted together, and Karam by her side, surveying the fire with a neutral look, like she was still deciding what the right reaction should be.

“Was that who I think it was?” Saxony asked, walking into the clearing. “Did you just make some kind of a deal with an underboss?”

Tavia didn’t like how scolding Saxony’s voice sounded, like Tavia was a kid in need of punishing for going against what the grown-ups wanted.

“You’re making a deal with Ashwood’s henchmen now? Tavia, you can’t trust them.”