Saera hadn't asked me to keep it secret, which seemed important, so I told Renn. Renn told the magistrate. Elizabeth heard, because Elizabeth heard everything. And now the four of us stood in what had become the investigation room, while the magistrate looked at me as though I had personally invented international complications.
"Absolutely not," she said. "They cannot remain indefinitely under Academy protection."
"I didn't say they should."
"You said they cannot be returned through normal channels."
"Saera said that."
"Based on what?"
"The person who sold them was beastkin."
"One person."
"With four Tiger warriors."
"Five people."
"That's more than one."
The magistrate closed her eyes for a second. Elizabeth looked suspiciously neutral, and Renn studied the wall.
"Her concern is understandable," said the magistrate. "It does not establish that every western authority is compromised."
"I didn't say it did."
"No. You've learned that phrasing very quickly."
