The full toxicology report takes until morning.

I sleep for three hours in a Court guest room and wake before anyone comes for me. My wolf is there immediately—not pushing, not howling, just present in the back of my mind like a second set of eyes.

For most

Grant arrives under Royal escort at nine the next morning. I know the exact time because I am watching the clock instead of the door. Tessa sits beside me at the long evidence table, one boot hooked around the chair leg. Sera has the sealed toxicology reports arrang

Ironveil's front gate looks smaller from the outside. I remember leaving through it in the dark with broken ribs, no wolf, and nothing in my hands except the knowledge I had spent six years making useful for people who never thought to ask where it came from.