He might have surfaced a snake, given Elena’s and Averill’s reactions. They looked stricken, as though someone had just picked their pockets.

“What are you doing with that?” Elena demanded. She tilted her head toward Han. “That was meant for him.”

“Maybe so,” Dancer said. “But I have it now.”

“Fire Dancer,” Willo said. “What about the amulet? What is it?”

“I knew there was something odd about this when it first came into my hands.” Dancer tapped the amulet with his fingertip. “There was something hidden inside that I couldn’t touch.”

“Fire Dancer!” Averill said sharply. “Don’t. This is clan business.” He took a step toward Dancer, but Han stepped in between them.

“I want to hear what he has to say,” Han said, one hand on the amulet hidden under his coat, the other extended toward the patriarch.

“I do too, Father.” Raisa nodded to Dancer to continue.

“It wasn’t until I read through Firesmith’s books that I figured it out,” Dancer said. “And then I knew that your bargain with Hunts Alone was a fraud.”

“Don’t listen to him, Briar Rose,” Elena said. “Remember who his father is.”

“Back during the Wizard Wars, the Demonai sometimes left amulets where wizards could find them,” Dancer said. “Or they would intentionally allow them to be stolen from the camps. The wizards did not realize that these were special amulets. If a wizard used magic against anyone wearing a Demonai talisman, the amulet would kill the spellcasting wizard.”

“Hanalea’s bloody bones,” Raisa whispered. “Are you saying that—that—”

“Imagine a battle between the gifted and the Demonai,” Dancer said. “With wizards dropping dead by the dozens as soon as they launched an attack.”

“The jinxflingers killed thousands when they invaded the Seven Realms,” Elena said. “It was self-defense.”

“Father?” Raisa said, taking a step toward them. “Grandmother? Is this true?”

Mother and son said nothing, but only stood with their trader faces on.

Han stole a glance at Bird, who sat against the wall, shaking her head, her lips pressed into a grim line.

Raisa’s face was pale and hard, her voice brittle. “I remember your saying, Father, that you had taken steps to make sure that Han wouldn’t betray you, but you wouldn’t tell me what you’d done. Is this what you meant?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “Alister knew from the beginning what the price of betrayal would be,” she said. “We made that very clear.”

“I’m thinking you are the one who planned to betray him,” Dancer said. “Once the Bayars were defeated, you would not want a descendant of Alger Waterlow on the loose in the Fells. So you built your solution into the amulet you gave him. When Hunts Alone had outlived his usefulness, you would kill him. If he defended himself, he would die.”

“You cannot prove that,” Elena said.