I quickly counted up the coins. “This comes to…three hundred talints? She betrayed the Empire and risked the noose for the price of a fine horse, and no more?” Malo picked up a coin and eyed it. “That, or your immunis was right—once she’d made one deal, they had enough to blackmail her into more service. Which makes sense. They often favor threats above gifts.” “They? Criminals, you mean?” “No.” She handed the coin back to me. “Kings, and those who rule with them. But perhaps there is little difference between the natures of such men and criminals.”
