“So much for staying under the radar,” Fionn hisses at her as she returns to our table with a heaping pile of verdes, the Thayarian currency. Her expression is sheepish but proud.

“Well, I didn’t mean to win so often. I was just trying to learn,” she responds, causing both Fionn and me to chuckle. “The game is simple, really. There are five suits of cards, one for each aether conduit, and corresponding tokens. The goal is to trade with others to make as many sets of matching cards and tokens as you can. But you can wager on every aspect of the game—even whether another player’s lying or not. You play until someone thinks they have the most matches, and they yell Skran. Then, everyone reveals their hands. The trick is to make people think you’re lying and don’t have very many matches.” We just stare at her. “Come on, let’s go to that empty table. I’ll teach you both. Might as well have some fun!” We follow her to the table and proceed to lose our own coin to her as she attempts to teach us the local game.

A hooded figure sits down next to me.

“Care if I join you?” a male voice asks. Fionn and Silene stiffen, but I pat him on the back in a welcoming gesture.

“If you’re willing to lose all your verdes to this one,” I nod at Silene, “then be my guest.”

He lowers his hood, revealing a fae with blonde hair, golden eyes, and a scar across one cheek. He grins at us, then places a small pile of the bronze coins on the table. “Deal me in.”

We play several hands in silence, and he beats Silene at least twice. She takes the loss in good humor, though I can tell she’s wary of him by her quick glances in his direction. Despite his skill, she still manages to rid us all of our initial starting bets.

“Looks like you’re as good as they say,” he says jovially to Silene. Then he looks at me. Voice low, he murmurs, “You’ve been inquiring about the Sons and Daughters.”

“Is that a question?” I ask with a cocky grin as both Fionn and Silene tense.

“I might have a contact. What makes you interested in them?”

“Guess I just heard about today’s events and decided I wanted to learn more,” I say, truthfully, allowing him to read his own intentions into the statement. “Do you have information?”

“I might,” he says cautiously. “But first I need to know you’re serious. What do you think about the Witch Queen?”

I pause to consider my words carefully, choosing to rely on the truth. “I don’t know much about her, really, other than what I hear from others. That makes me unsure of her intentions and whether she’s fit to rule.”