Jess held out the book, and Wolfe took it. They were all silent a moment while he flipped the pages. Jess found himself watching the man’s face, waiting to see him react, but he might have been perusing some dusty academic work instead of reading about his own darkest hours. When he was done, he closed the book and sat back with a sigh.

“I suppose I should begin with what Glain doesn’t know,” Wolfe said. “Three years ago, I invented and built a device—something that threatened the entire foundations of the Library, though I didn’t see it at the time. My device was destroyed, and I was charged with heresy. My work was erased. I was made to disappear, too.” He glanced at Santi, who was still staring hard at the floor. “Nic was a fool and risked himself trying to find me. He nearly died himself in the attempt. At any rate, I was finally released, under the condition that I never again publish or pursue any lines of research that the Library deems dangerous. I live on sufferance.”

Jess knew all this; he’d learned it from Santi and Wolfe when Thomas had disappeared. He’d never breathed a word of it to the others, and it jolted him that Wolfe was speaking of it now.

“But you got out!” Glain said. “That means there’s hope for Thomas.”

Wolfe was already shaking his head. “My mother is the Obscurist Magnus, and her influence and power meant that the Archivist couldn’t execute me out of hand, no matter how badly he wanted to. Even so, I didn’t just get out, though I was a man of high standing, of many accomplishments, with honors and friends. Thomas was just a student. A postulant.” Wolfe paused a moment, and Jess thought he was censoring himself about what to tell them. “If Thomas is still alive, it’s because the Archivist recognizes his worth to the Library. That means they’ll keep him until his will and spirit are thoroughly broken, and then they’ll put him to work in some secret corner. Eventually. It won’t be a life, but he will still be breathing.”

That was a horrible thought, but it was one Jess had already experienced. Thomas wouldn’t simply be held. It would be far worse than that. He didn’t want to imagine how much worse, but he could see from the lightless look in Wolfe’s eyes that the Scholar remembered. There was something not quite right in that stare, and Jess shivered. Maybe Santi had been right: maybe involving Wolfe in this was a mistake.

But we need him, Jess thought. For the first time since he’d held that book and read the account of Thomas’s arrest and questioning, he felt less alone. Less helpless. He knew Glain wouldn’t let it go; despite Santi’s reluctance, the captain wouldn’t, either.

And with Wolfe’s guidance, Thomas’s fate seemed more and more like something they could change. Together. He’d never once, since realizing Thomas still lived, thought about leaving him where he was, to whatever mercy the Library might have.