Chapter 22 · A Deal With Teeth

"Get your hands off me before I rip them off!"

Mara didn't just scream; she lunged. She slammed Toby Quill against the damp brick wall of the alleyway, her forearm pressed hard against his windpipe. The smell of old grease and cheap tobacco clung to him, a scent that usually meant a deal was coming, or a betrayal was already in motion.

"Whoa, Mara! Easy! I'm a friend! A friendly, very terrified informant!" Toby wheezed, his eyes bulging behind thick glasses. He didn't fight back—Toby wasn't built for fighting—but he was clutching a leather satchel to his chest like it held the secrets of the universe.

"Friend? You vanished when the Crown burned the archives. You went dark for three months while I was being hunted like a rabid dog," Mara spat, her voice raw. She tightened her grip, feeling the frantic pulse in his neck. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't let the black fire cook you from the inside out right now."

"Because I have the key!" Toby gasped. "Not a literal key—well, maybe a literal one, who knows—but the info! The path to the Eclipse center that Evelyn didn't scrub!"

"Liar.