“No,” Inaya said. She thought of the last time she saw Khos, and remembered the letters. Her children would never see them now. “You know, Khos came to me when I was in prison.”

“Did he? That’s quite a trip. Folks have been telling me your little rebellion thing here has gotten pretty exciting.”

“That’s why it seemed so odd. I expected he was there to retrieve me.”

“But that meant giving up your people, right?”

“Doesn’t it always?”

“Huh,” Nyx said. “And he didn’t say anything?”

“Just the usual nonsense about going home. But… well, there was one strange thing. Maybe you know something about it. You were close to him, weren’t you?”

Nyx shrugged. “We worked together.”

“He said it in Nasheenian. He said, ‘Look to what you devour.’ I thought maybe he was telling me something in code, maybe just telling me the food had saffron in it. It wasn’t terribly helpful.”

“In Nasheenian?” Nyx said, and laughed. “It’s slang, Inaya.”

“What?”

“It’s slang for when you go down on somebody, you know,” and she waggled her tongue.

Inaya grimaced. “You’re so crude.”

“That’s what it is.”

“Why would he say something like that?”

Nyx gnawed on that. “There’s a tavern in Punjai called the Licking Cat,” Nyx said. “Folks talk about it a lot using that phrase. It’s a joke. You know, look to what you eat because… Yeah, you wouldn’t get it. Anyway. There any taverns here called something like that? Make allusions to getting a good rub?”

“I wouldn’t know about that.”

“Oh, wouldn’t you? The rebel leader with an eye on every fucked up thing going on in her town?”

Inaya considered that. They had surveillance at most taverns in the area. “I’ll ask my operatives,” she said.

“Come on, Inaya, say you’ll take him. I promise, that tavern thing is a good tip.”

“Let him stay,” another voice said. Nyx knew it. Isabet.

Isabet stood in the doorway, dressed all in white muslin. Her hair was clean and brushed, bound in a simple white scarf. Even with her imperfect skin, she was a lovely thing, and Nyx could understand what Eshe had seen in her. A poor, unsuspecting little rich girl getting far too deep into matters she did not understand. Eshe always had a thing for those sorts. Nyx felt another sting of grief, and pushed it aside.

Inaya turned, and she and Isabet spoke in Ras Tiegan for a time. Finally, she sighed. “Isabet insists we help him,” she said, “though I have no idea why she should feel any desire to help you.”

“She’s not helping me,” Nyx said, “just finishing what Eshe started.”

Inaya narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure,” she said.