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Chapter Twenty Three – The Ledger in the Deep
The quay smells of wet tar and iron and the sound of footsteps like small hammers. The ledger man stands with the book hugged to his chest as if it were a child on fire. The key in his other hand throbs with a white light that makes the lanterns look dim and ordinary. He is not a stranger any more. He is the regent s archivist, Corin Vale, a man who wore the crown s ink like armor and who had once signed orders with a steady hand.Darian pushes the oar against a slick stone and the little boat rides into the wash. Lyra keeps her breath slow, and Isolde has the mask tucked against her ribs like a blade. The river hums under them, a deep song that answers to names, to oaths, to binding. The current presses at the hull like a reminder that nowhere is safe while the Spire stirs.Corin Vale does not look surprised to see them. His eyes are bright as flint. He sets the ledger on a barrel and opens it like an offering. Pages rustle like trapped birds. Ink glitters where it should be matte. F
Chapter Twenty Two – The Current Remembers
Water closed over them like a hand with teeth. The bridge broke and the world narrowed to wood and river and the hot white arc of the locket at Darian’s chest. He lashed for breath and the current caught his legs and spun him like a coin. Torches tumbled into the dark and sparks stitched the surface with false stars. Shouts became thin ribboned sounds that the river swallowed.Lyra was under him then, not a shadow but a small fierce thing clawing for air. He pushed and she pushed and the river pulled them down into a cold that wanted to take names whole. The scrap of paper in his pocket soaked and clung like a living thing. The mask slid from his pack and twirled away, a silver moon gone to the deep.Something vast moved beneath them. Not a single creature but an old slow intelligence that smelled like salt and iron and engines. The same voice that had once said the words Forge and Oath met him in a sound that wrapped the inside of his skull.Darian thought of the binding and the ring
Chapter Twenty One – The Bridge of Names
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
Chapter Twenty – The River Reckoning
They left Garric's forge with the mask wrapped and the rod hooked into the pack. Night pressed thick around the mills and the river moved like a living thing, pulling and giving with a patience that made men feel small. Darian walked with the scrap of names in his pocket and the locket hot against his sternum. The binding hummed through him, steady and insistent, a reminder that every step now carried weight.Merek rode in Soren's cart with a blanket over his chest. The captain looked smaller than he had on the bridge and the blood on his tunic had dried into dark maps. His breaths came less often but when he opened his eyes he found Darian and nodded. No words were needed. The nod said keep moving, keep the promise.Kade moved ahead like a shadow with teeth. He had welcomed the hunt and now he kept them fed with routes and rumors. His grin was a line drawn tight across something softer. Isolde walked close by Darian and sometimes lifted the mask up just enough to let the moonlight lo
Chapter Nineteen – Varrow's Hand
The man at the bench smiled like a razor. His cloak had been stripped to a rag and the light from the hearth painted his face with a sick gold. Varrow. The name tasted like metal in Darian's mouth. The sigil on his cuff burned with a small, cruel pride. He set the device down with careful hands as if laying a child into a cradle."You should not have come for this," Varrow said. His voice was soft and even. It did not need to shout to command the room. "Some truths get people killed."Garric's shoulders hunched. He gripped the anvil edge and did not speak. Kade stepped forward, knife ready but his hands did not tremble. Soren reached for a hammer and then thought better of it. The men in the doorway had not come to bargain. They came to collect."Give it," Varrow said to Darian. He angled his head as if he offered an invitation rather than a demand.Darian felt the binding like a rope at his ribs. The locket under his tunic thrummed and the mask in his hands weighed like a verdict. He
Chapter Eighteen – The Narrow Gate
The newcomer dropped hard and breathed like a man who had run too long. He had a face like weathered rope and eyes that did not ask questions. He swung his hood back and spat river water from his mouth. "Name is Kade," he said. "Follow me if you want Garric alive and not set to roast in the regent s oven."Soren swore low and shoved the oars with a renewed fury. The cutters cut the wake close and bolts spat over the skiff like angry birds. The grapnel had been flung again and this time one hook landed with a thunk that made the boat shudder. Men leaned out from the cutter with poles. The new man swung himself to the prow and cut the rope with a knife that flashed silver."Got it," he panted. "Move. The channel splits under the old mill. Take left and hug the wall. The tide will throw you into the sluice by the broken wheel. They will not fit fast boats there."Isolde cursed softly and pushed Soren aside for a stroke. The skiff lurched and answered. Darian kept his hands tight on the m
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