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He had looked at me and said, "Don't."

I had taken the advice.

Vey was already sitting in his box above the ring when I arrived. He lounged in a velvet chair with the relaxed confidence of a man who believed everything below him already belonged to him.

His silk shirt was open almost to the center of his chest, and gold rings covered several of his fingers. His thick tawny hair was swept back from a face that might have been handsome if there had ever been any warmth behind the smile. Even from across the cavern, I could smell the lion on him.

He watched me climb the steps to the box, and his mouth curved.

"Gatito," he said. "You're late."

"Traffic," I told him. "Terrible night on the sea. Dolphins everywhere."

He laughed.

He always laughed at my jokes, which was honestly one of the things I hated most about him.

"How's your brother?"

"Fine."

"Good. Good." He turned his glass slowly in one hand. "Your payment is due tonight, of course. As we agreed. You fight, and this month's interest disappears."

"Who am I fighting?"

"You'll like him." His smile widened. "He's big."

"They're always big. You never book me anyone short. I've told you before, Cassius, this is blatant discrimination against short people."

He laughed again, but when he leaned forward, his voice became softer.

"I hear you've found yourself a new pet at that school of yours," he said. "A little Hollow. The one who ran the Moonrun and came out clean."

Every muscle in my body tightened, but I kept smiling.

I had spent five years learning what happened in rooms like this when you stopped smiling at the wrong moment.

"I don't know who you mean."

"No?" Vey settled back into his chair. "That's a shame."

His eyes moved over me slowly. In the low light, they were unmistakably feline.

"People have been asking about her," he continued. "Interesting people. People with a great deal of money."

He took a sip from his glass.

"I thought you might want to know, gatito. Since the two of you seem to be such good friends."

Ironmoor censored every letter that left the island and controlled every official boat that came or went. Vey should not have known that Wren had run the Moonrun at all.

Someone inside Ironmoor was feeding information to someone outside.

I felt a quiet tension spread through my chest.

People with that kind of money did not ask Vey questions about a woman because they were curious. They asked because they wanted access to her, and men like Vey rarely cared what happened after he provided it.

"She's nobody," I said, keeping my voice easy. "She can't even shift."