Chapter 15 · They Let the Traitors In

"Crown Authority unlocked." The screen's still floating between us when Carson grabs my wrist. "What does that mean."

"Get your hands off me." I yank back but the ring's gone and so's the leverage. He lets go.

"What. Does it. Mean."

Mira's already moving, knife out, eyes on the screen only I can see. "She just took full control. Gates, walls, cores. Everything."

"I didn't take anything." My voice comes out too loud. "The system unlocked it. I didn't—"

"Because you survived the backflow." Carson's sword's still down but his hand's on the grip. "Because you're strong enough to hold it."

"Or because she's exactly what the old king was." Mira stops three feet away. Close enough I can see the scar across her knuckles. "Strong enough to decide who lives and who gets thrown to the tide."

The courtyard's too quiet. Sixty, seventy people watching. Guards on the wall, refugees by the baker's shop, mercs leaning against the rubble where the east hall used to be. All of them waiting to see if I'm gonna do what the screen says I can.

"Show us the interface," Carson says.

"You can't see it."

"Then tell us what it says.