“Oh, don’t try to fix it.” Finn flopped in another chair, still grinning. “I like it.”
“Gods dead and dying,” Val muttered.
“Now.” Finn knit his long, pale fingers together and set them on top of a stack of rent records. Nearly every finger wore a ring, the most ostentatious an emerald glinting on his thumb. “Eoin—the Prime Minister—was an ally to King August, but ever since his son took the throne, he’s been… rethinking some things.”
Gabe’s jaw clenched. Malcolm sent him a warning look. “And why is that?”
“Mostly, the new King’s strict attitude about religion.”
“I thought Caldien wasn’t religious?” Michal said. “So why would they care?”
“We aren’t, at least not compared with Auverraine. But that doesn’t mean Eoin isn’t fascinated by the gods,” Finn continued. “He and a handful of others are very invested in… alternative paths, I suppose you could say.”
“So he doesn’t like Apollius,” Gabe said bluntly.
Finn tipped his head. “I wouldn’t say he doesn’t like Him. Just that he’s skeptical, and more interested in the rest of the pantheon. Which the new King in Auverraine doesn’t much appreciate.”
Across the table, Malcolm stared intently at Gabe, as if compelling him to listen closely.
“He’s particularly taken with the elemental gods,” Finn concluded.
Gabe kept his face composed, though his hand twitched. Going further down that path would raise questions he didn’t want to answer; he changed subjects. “And how, exactly, does this information help with our bloodcoat problem?”
“They’re looking for you.” Finn sat back, tapped one of thoserings on a watery ink-bloom in a neglected ledger. “Reportedly because you have the same fascination.”
That was one way to put it.
“At this juncture,” Finn continued, “I believe if you asked Eoin for religious asylum, he’d be inclined to give it to you.”
Gabe and Malcolm slid each other calculating looks across the desk. Their entire escape here had been predicated on finding help to stop Apollius, to warn Caldien that Auverraine would invade sooner or later. If they could get an audience with the Prime Minister, warn him while ensuring his protection…
“Why are you helping us?” Val asked, still glowering by the door. “How did you even know we needed help?”
“Like I said, I’ve heard interesting rumors about this one.” Finn gestured to Gabe. “The eye patch and palm tattoos are rather distinctive. He matches a description that should be making its way around town soon, once Auverraine officially puts out warrants for your arrest.”
A frisson of dread coursed around the room, straightening every spine.
“Eoin’s protection would keep you from being extradited,” Finn said. “And it seems you’re going to need it.”
“So what do we do?” Michal’s voice was quiet, his eyes wide. He was no stranger to running away from the law, but the prospect of the law catching up made him sound half strangled. “To get his protection?”
“I can take you there.” Finn shrugged. “Probably only two of you, to be safe.” He gestured to Gabe and then Malcolm. “You two would be sufficient. You could petition for everyone in your party.”
“When?” Gabe asked.
“Let’s say tomorrow night.” Finn stood and stretched, as if all this talking had put an ache in his back. “I’ll knock four times. That’s your signal.” He grinned. “Wear something with a hood.”
Then he left, strolling out the door as if on his way to a party.
They all sat in silence, waiting to hear his footsteps recede. “Well,” Val said. “That’s suspicious. I can’t be the only person who finds that suspicious?”
“You aren’t,” Gabe replied. “But it seems we have little choice. We’ll meet him.”
“And if he’s lying?” Michal asked.
Gabe sighed. “Then at least it’s only two of us. The rest of you, run.”
Michal reached over and grabbed Malcolm’s hand. “I’ll go with you.”
