He pours liquid into the glass, bringing over a second one for me. “No. I’ve been promoted. He’s going to Test me, make sure I’m trustworthy. It’ll be different to yours, as he’s not using me for lucid dreaming, but I imagine it’ll be along the same lines. I guess we’re celebrating that somehow things didn’t totally go to shit last night.”

“Did you know what was going to happen?” I ask him.

He takes a swig. “No. I knew Leo was going to try something, but I thought he was months away from actually doing it. I guess he didn’t trust me enough to include me in his plans.”

“If he had, would you have sided with him?” If he had, would the end result have been different?

“No. Too dangerous. If there’d been even a hint I was involved, I’d be as dead as the others.”

“Right.” I sip the SynthGin. “Did you know Tila is sleeping with Ensi?”

“She’s his canary?” he asks. “No. I most definitely did not know that.” His eyes ask the question I don’t answer.

I take another gulp. “What does that mean, to be his canary? Malka called me that, too.”

“Tila is—you are—his newest pet. His newest toy. He’ll play with you for a time, like a cat with a canary.”

“Then, what, he’ll eat me? Is that what he does with the others?”

“Sometimes. If they displease him. If not, he lets them fly away, and then finds another.”

“Right. He’s been with her before. Tila. I got the feeling it’d been more than once. He seemed to … care.”

Again, the question with his eyes. I sigh. “I didn’t sleep with him. I almost did but we were … interrupted by gunfire.”

“Right.” He takes another sip. “How did the Test go?”

“It was horrible,” I say. “If you’re going to be Tested, I shouldn’t tell you about it.”

If he knew it wasn’t real, it’d alter the readings to the electrodes. And, in any case, the Test for him could be completely different from mine.

“And if I fail, I’m stuck as a Knight or a Pawn for good.” Or worse. Nazarin’s heard of the odd Pawn or Knight disappearing after their Test.

We’re silent. I slosh more drink in the cup. I’m drinking too much. Before all this, I hardly ever touched the stuff. At least my liver will be safe. Whoo.

“So what does the SFPD want our next step to be?”

“I take the Test. We keep playing our roles. Kim’s been perfecting something she thinks can help us gather evidence.”

I let out a slow breath. “How soon do you think she’d be able to do this?”

Nazarin perks up. “Why?”