"The blood-magic is still ongoing in the palace," Solomon said a little flatly. "Or at least it was, some months ago, when the palace had just been subverted--some of the Foreigners managed to infiltrate it." Raine was one of them, though Solomon didn't know that. He made a noise at Skulduggery's reprimand, half a grunt and half a wordless grumble, and handed some bones to the skeleton.

Then he sat back with a sigh. "Because," he said, "there are things Asti would be better served giving his attention to than maintaining our boons if he were fighting Mevolent's little brother so directly. And if Asti himself fell sick only once blood-magic rites were interrupted, then that says a great deal about where the rites were going."