"All my rules require observation to enforce," Anton said simply. "Those who do not wish to risk my enforcement are those who don't break them to begin with. You are not a prisoner while behaving in a manner which lends others their rightful autonomy, China. Do not pretend to me that you do not understand the difference."

But the fact that she was showing him the related sigils took him by surprise, and her magic fed a trickle of doubt into his mind. Would she truly offer him such, if she weren't in earnest?

Of course she would, he told himself sternly.

"I think you can be unwise in the pursuit of pleasure and pushing boundaries," Anton said evenly. "The sanctity of my patrons and their ability to choose is paramount here. Your mere presence contravenes that. See that you aren't unwise, China. If I have reason to believe otherwise, I will defend them."