The bridge thrummed under their feet as if the city itself had held its breath. Torches lined the parapet like a row of angry eyes. Men with the regent seal stood in two lines that cut the crowd in half. Between them the masked figure from before stood with a device cradled in both hands. Varrow had not been seen since the boathouse but his reach was a long shadow. The regent watched from the far end, a sigh of a man who still thought he could close the pages of history.Darian felt the binding at his chest like a second heartbeat. The locket burned and the scrap of names pressed cold and heavy in his pocket. Lyra stayed at his side and her hand fit his like a pledge. Amara walked forward with slow deliberate steps. Her voice when she spoke was small and raw but steady."I will tell the names," she said. "I will say where they hid the lists and who read them. I will say how they turned law into a blade. Hear me and then judge."A murmur rose and folded into the night. Some in the crow