Mick and Garret gave Raisa sympathetic looks before they trooped out of the room. Raisa heard their boots on the stairs. Then silence.

Raisa leaned her hip on the window ledge and glared daggers at Amon Byrne. He glared thunderclouds back. Each waited for the other to begin.

Finally, Amon gave in. “Did you really ask Cuffs Alister up to your room?”

“Han,” she said.

“What?”

“He goes by Han Alister now.”

Amon rolled his eyes. “Han Alister, then.”

“What of it?” Raisa said, furious and embarrassed and frustrated, all at once.

“You know what the rules are,” Amon said. “Just because we don’t have a dorm master doesn’t mean they’re not enforced. No guests are allowed on the second and third floors. No guests at all after curfew. I promised Taim Askell that—”

“Taim Askell has nothing to do with this and you know it!” Raisa said. “If you’d found a girl hiding in Mick’s room, you’d not have driven her off with a sword.”

“If he was snuggling with a known thief and gang leader, maybe I would,” Amon said. “Especially if that thief had already abducted him at knifepoint and held him captive overnight. Especially if that thief had suddenly turned into a wizard.” He thrust his head forward like a turtle from its shell. “As a matter of fact, I’d be seriously wondering if Mick had lost his wits.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Raisa said, pulling her shirt on. “It’s not like I’ve tried to keep it a secret or anything. I told you he was here at Oden’s Ford.”

Just stop talking, Raisa thought. There’s no reason you should feel guilty.

“You said you wouldn’t pretend not to know him,” Amon said. “You didn’t tell me you were going to…to…” He waved his hand, taking in the rumpled bed. “Rai, you hardly know him. And what you do know is no recommendation.”

“I know more about him than you think,” Raisa said. “I’ve been tutoring him for months.”

“Tutoring him?” Amon raised his eyebrows. “Is that what you were doing?” He snatched up his sword and rammed it home in his scabbard like he was skewering an enemy, muttering something about tutoring.

“What was that?” Raisa said. “What did you say?”

“I said, If you were tutoring him, what was the bloody subject?”

“None of your business,” she said. “Anyway, every other night you’re crossing the river to be with Annamaya.”

“That’s different. We’re not…” Again he waved a hand at Raisa’s bed.

Raisa put her hands on her hips. “Do you even want to? You shouldn’t be marrying someone you aren’t in love with.”

“Well, I don’t have much choice, do I?” He sat down on the edge of the hearth and put his head in his hands.