Ronan arrived at the capital before noon. Not with warriors. Not with an escort. With three ledgers under one arm and a sealed quartermaster box under the other. That was new.

The Crown Council inquiry room had emptied except for me, Cassian, two clerks, and an

Cassian read Severin's arrest order once. Then he unbuckled his sword. I stared at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Preventing twenty Royal Guards from drawing steel against twenty palace guards."

He placed the sword on the council table. The room had filled quickly

Smoke leaked from beneath the ancestral vault door. Captain Rusk swore.

"Manual lock from inside."

Cassian looked at the hinges.

"Can we breach it?"

"Not without collapsing the frame."

I stepped forward. The black metal plate beside the door bore the same