Three people in anonymous tactical gear entered. None of them were familiar to me.

I grabbed my Taser from my jacket pocket with one hand and manifested a blood dagger in the other.

"Ash. Stand down. It's Levi's people," Arkady said.

How could he be sure? Unlike Miles' team or even the Queen's, there were no identifying marks.

One scanned the room, then said, "clear," into a mic clipped to his lapel.

Levi stepped through the plastic, accompanied ...