“They was meeting like lovers on the down-low, over stingo and sandwiches.” Once Flinn warmed up, he seemed far too willing to talk. “Lady Bayar wanted to know why Cuffs hadn’t hushed you yet, and he said he was taking all the risk and she needed to put in, too, that he wasn’t going to do her dirty work and dangle in order to make her queen of the Fells. He said he needed her to get him one more vote on the Wizard Council to keep—” Here, he faltered, coloring, but soldiered on. “To keep Lady Bayar’s brother from getting in bed with you and putting protections around you. I didn’t quite follow that part.”

“Lady Bayar isn’t on the council,” Raisa said. “I don’t see how she could help him there.”

“He wanted her to put the fix in with somebody else. Then Cuffs said he was going to be king, and he asked Lady Bayar if she’d be willing to hush her brother and disgrace her father so they could get what they both wanted, and she said yes.”

Flinn hunched his shoulders miserably. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe he would fall in with one of the scumsucking demons that tortured and murdered Sweets and Velvet and Shiv Connor and the rest.”

Once again, he glanced at the bedchamber door. “Now I’m a dead man, I guess.”

Raisa wanted to think Flinn a liar, but everything about him—his body language, his obvious fear of Han—said he was telling the truth. Or believed he was, anyway.

“Why did you come to Captain Byrne?” Raisa said, swallowing down anguish. “I mean, you’ve already lost so much. I wouldn’t blame you if you kept quiet.”

Flinn ran his hands through his matted hair. “I was in Southbridge Guardhouse last year,” he said. “I was one of the Raggers taken by Sergeant Gillen. You likely don’t remember, but, me, I’ll never forget how you came in and busted us out; how you got right in the cage with us and stuck that torch in old Gillen’s face. And you a blueblood and all.” He shrugged his narrow shoulders. “You risked your life for me. So when I found out Lord Alister meant to do you harm, I had to speak up.”

When the awful interview was over, two of the Wolves took Flinn away for safekeeping. Pearlie and two others remained outside the door.

“Bones,” Raisa said. “Bloody, bloody bones.” She paced back and forth, while Amon stood watching silently. “He thinks he’s telling the truth. And yet…it can’t be. It can’t be true. I won’t believe it.”

Amon finally took her arm and led her to the settee. “Sit,” he said. “You’ll wear yourself out.” He sat down next to her.