"You can't ally yourself with the ruler of the black market." Miles grabbed a stress ball off his desk, practically grinding the thing. "If the Untainted Party find out, they'll crucify you."

I pointed at Miles, nodding. "That."

"They're out to crucify me regardless."

He wasn't wrong. We'd learned at an auction a couple weeks ago that someone had fed the Party misinformation, implicating Levi behind the rampaging smudges with a view to securing dictatorial power. ...