Dax looked genuinely puzzled. "Must there be a dagger?"
"Yes," Chris said flatly. "Always. You don't do anything without a second edge."
Dax's eyes glittered, and Chris knew he'd hit it.
"The second edge," Dax said slowly, "is that I also banned the sale of suppressants to unlicensed distributors."
Chris went still.
Outside, a firework cracked open in the distance, bright enough to flash through the window and make the room jump with color. The river shivered with reflection.
Chris's voice lowered. "You did what?"
Dax's tone stayed calm. "The palace will subsidize them. Properly. Through approved clinics. Not through back-room agreements. Not through… obscurely licensed clinics and pharmacies."
Chris didn't move.
He could feel the word settle between them like a stone dropped into water. It made ripples. It made memories.
He swallowed once, slowly.
"You can't ban an entire shadow market by decree," Chris said, carefully. "That's not how reality works."
