Chapter 20 · The Broker's Nose

"Take the collar off, Vera."

Vera did not even look at the blade against her throat.

She glanced down instead, at the claws wrapped around her wrist. "You got taller."

"And you got slower."

"Still rude. Good. I was worried the Maw had eaten your personality."

Jessa pressed the knife harder. A thin red line appeared under Vera's jaw. Not enough to spill. Enough to make the broker stop smiling.

The collar sat on the table between them.

Black leather. Brass studs. Three broken teeth punched through one side. Dried blood darkened the inside. Her name had been carved across the front in crooked letters.

JESSA.

The letters were still wet in the cuts.

Vera's gaze dropped to it. Her smile tightened by half an inch.

There. That was the first honest thing she'd done all night.

Jessa caught it.

"You know who made it," she said.

"I know who sold it."

"That's not what I asked."

"You never ask the question you actually want answered."

Jessa twisted Vera's wrist until the broker's shoulder hit the stone wall. The room shook with the impact. Shelves rattled behind Vera, sending glass vials clicking against one another.

"Try me.