Norah sets the teacup on the table beside her. “What is it you want, Saskia?” Her gaze is glued to me. She doesn’t even look at the others, as if she knows this is between the two of us.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I say. “You’re going to confess to the Grand Council that you’ve been working with Latham. That you’ve been allowing him to manipulate the bone games. And then you’re going to give them whatever information they need to find him.”

Her eyebrows arch, and her mouth twists into an amused smile. “That’s a lovely story, dear. Now let me tell one of my own.” She presses her hands together in front of her like an excited child playing a game. “We’ll all go to the Grand Council together. You’ll tell them your suspicions, and then one of them will ask how you came to believe such a preposterous claim. You’ll stammer a bit, before finally admitting that you saw it in a bone reading. Of the past.”

She stands up and begins to pace in front of the hearth. She looks exactly as she does when she’s lecturing in the workshop, like she’s savoring every moment. Drawing out the suspense for maximum effect. A heavy cloak of dread falls across my shoulders. I feel myself slumping under its weight.

“You might protest that it was just that once—an accident, a mistake—but then I’ll point out a similar question that was recently put to rest by this very team. I’ll ask the Grand Council to demand you show your mastery tattoo.”

I feel a shock wave go through my team, and Norah laughs. “You’ve been keeping secrets, I see. Would you like to show them now?” Reflexively, I fold my arms across my chest and press my palms over my upper arms. She turns to the others. “Saskia’s mastery tattoo is quite lovely. Very intricate. And it has three corners. Poor Jensen is on Fang Island at this very moment being punished for something Saskia is guilty of too. Ah, the irony. Imagine what the Grand Council would think of that.”

A twinge of sadness flashes across Jacey’s expression, but it quickly hardens into defiance. “It doesn’t matter,” she says. “The rest of us can testify that we know what you’ve done.”

“I wasn’t finished with my story,” Norah says. “See, when I fired Rasmus, I found something strange in his pocket. A cloth that had been soaked in a waking sedative potion. He claims he got it from you, but that can’t be, because you’re matched to ingestibles. Unless …” Her eyes go deliberately wide. “Did Saskia encourage you to use unbound magic?”