Verin pauses, long enough, to let Essek look at him in sharp surprise. He smiles, this brittle little edge to it, and doesn't say anything at first. What was he supposed too say?

Well, he knows what to say. There's just a lot of other things he wants to say, too.

"I met Mollymauk," he said, arching a brow. "When did you start attracting magpies? No, no, I've seen less flashy magpies than that boy."