“Then why make him walk into a gambling den? Wylan thought but didn’t say. And why make Jesper give up something that meant so much to him? There had to be another way to keep Smeet playing. But those weren’t even the right questions. The real question was why Jesper did it all without hesitating. Maybe he was still looking for Kaz’s approval, hoping to earn back his favor after Jesper’s slip had led them into the ambush at the docks that had nearly cost Inej her life. Or maybe Jesper wanted something more than forgiveness from Kaz. What am I doing here? Wylan wondered again.”

When the novel begins, the Dregs are literally and figuratively divided. Van Eck kidnapped Inej, and Kaz is willing to exploit his friends’ weaknesses and put them in dangerous situations to get her back; he makes Jesper pose as a patron in a gambling den even though he knows that Jesper has a gambling addiction. Backed into a corner, Jesper wagers his beloved revolvers. The situation upsets Wylan—not least because he suspects Jesper might have feelings for Kaz—but as the novel progresses, Wylan grows significantly more secure in his place among the crew and in his relationship with Jesper. In addition, Wylan and Jesper become more vocal about defending one another from their foes and, when need be, their friends.

“Slowly, Kaz began to let the man’s legs slide through his grasp. It’s terrible, isn’t it? Knowing someone holds your life in his hands. The clerk’s voice rose another octave as he realized his mistake. She’s just a working girl, he screamed. She knows the score! I’m a good man. I’m a good man! There are no good men in Ketterdam, Kaz said. The climate doesn’t agree with them. And then he’d simply let go.”

“Slowly, Kaz began to let the man’s legs slide through his grasp. It’s terrible, isn’t it? Knowing someone holds your life in his hands. The clerk’s voice rose another octave as he realized his mistake. She’s just a working girl, he screamed. She knows the score! I’m a good man. I’m a good man! There are no good men in Ketterdam, Kaz said. The climate doesn’t agree with them. And then he’d simply let go.”