“Isn’t that Raurie Coste?” Aina whispered.

Teo nodded. “Her aunt uses magic. Whenever Raurie’s not working at her uncle’s bar, she negotiates prices on imported liquor here. Helps her uncle’s bar keep the best stock, and other owners pay her for her input. The people who sell to her don’t expect her to be so good at it because she’s young and pretty, but then she outsmarts them. She’s trying to earn enough money to get her family out of the Stacks.”

“Good for her,” Aina said with an approving nod.

As they approached Raurie’s table, she sensed Ryuu gazing around the black market with cautious eyes. She’d known most of these people her whole life. To bring Ryuu into this circle of people that he could never understand felt like she was betraying them. What did he think of the rags the women wore, the unshaved faces of the men, the people missing teeth, the grungy interior?

As the man left with his payment for the liquor, Aina took a seat directly across from Raurie.

“You’ve seen me around before, haven’t you?” she asked as a greeting. “Have you heard anything about me recently?”

Raurie frowned and shook her head. “Nothing recently; I’ve been here all day.”

Aina nodded, relieved that she saw no deceit in the other girl’s eyes. “I know you’re a busy woman, Raurie, so I won’t waste your time. I need something from you. He can pay you whatever you want.” She nodded at Ryuu, whose eyes widened. “Seriously, name your price.”

“When did I say she could—”

“Be quiet, Ryuu, she’s thinking.”

Raurie grimaced, then tapped her fingers along the wooden table while she considered. People from the Stacks never heard that they could name their price, so she was smart to be suspicious. Aina considered her, wondering how much she was involved in her aunt’s magic practice, if she knew how dangerous it was, if she cared.

“What do you want?” she asked while putting away the Kaiyanis man’s bottles of liquor with a studied mask of indifference on her face. “Some things don’t have a price.”

“Nothing bad, just illegal,” Aina said, waving a hand dismissively. “Teo tells me your aunt offers certain … services. We’d like to pay her a visit to help us find someone. So, name your price.”

Raurie smiled, then. “One thousand kors.”

“Come on, Raurie, be more ambitious!” Aina urged as Ryuu shook his head in disbelief.

“Is it your personal goal to watch my family go bankrupt?”

“That’s just sort of a bonus for me.”

“Five thousand,” Raurie suggested, raising her hand as if she were at an auction.

“Done!”

As they shook hands, Raurie said, “You’ll need a piece of the person you’re tracking, though. A strand of hair, a fingernail, anything.”

“Gross,” Teo said, but Aina was already pulling out one of her diamond-edged daggers, suddenly glad she hadn’t had time to clean her weapons since last night.

“What about this?” Tilting the knife, orange lamplight shone on Kouta’s bloodstains. Ryuu quickly turned away, looking ill.