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"We're taking her to the palace." The noble's hand was already on my arm before Carson moved.
"Take your hand off her."
The man didn't let go. "The envoy offered peace terms. One royal bloodline in exchange for safe passage through the territory. She's worth more than this entire city."
Carson's blade was at the man's throat so fast I barely saw him move. "I said take your hand off."
The noble released me. Stepped back. But five more were already closing in around us in the narrow hall outside the archive, and I could see the calculation in their eyes. Trade one girl for survival. Simple math.
"She's the reason the portals opened," another one said. "Royal blood draws the tide. You know that."
"Royal blood also runs the core," Carson said. "And right now that core is the only thing keeping the walls up."
"Then we run it ourselves. The control ring—"
"Doesn't work without her." Carson's voice was flat. Cold. "I tried. Core won't answer to anyone else."
That was a lie. I could feel the ring on my wrist, the faint hum of connection that said the system would listen to him just fine if he really wanted it to. He was buying me time. I just didn't know why.
The first noble straightened his jacket. "Then we send her with instructions. The envoy wants royal blood, not royal cooperation. Dead or alive, the offer stands."
"Dead," I said, "and your walls drop in six hours. The core told me. Bloodline authentication required every twelve hours or it locks."
Another lie. But they didn't know that.
Carson's mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. "So we keep her alive and working, or we all die when the next wave hits. Your call."
The nobles exchanged looks. I could see them weighing it. Peace now versus survival later. The man in front folded his arms.
"Fine. But when this is over, we renegotiate. The city's not dying for one girl's mistakes."
"Wasn't my mistake," I said. "I didn't open the portals."
"Your family did."
"My family's dead."
"Not all of them." The noble's smile was thin. Sharp. "Your fiance's still broadcasting from the northern platform. Says he's coming to collect what's his."
The floor dropped out from under me.
Adriel.
I hadn't heard his voice in three years. Hadn't wanted to. The memory of his smile, the way he used to touch my hand across the table like we were something real, like the engagement wasn't just two royal houses binding an alliance—
No. Focus.
"He's lying," I said. "Whatever he told you—"
"He told us you killed the old king. That you activated the tide gates and ran. That he's spent three years hunting you, and now he's here to finish the job or take you home. Dealer's choice."
Carson's hand closed around my wrist. The one with the ring. His grip was tight enough to hurt. "Is it true?"
I met his eyes. "Which part?"
"Any of it."
The archive door was still open behind us. I could see the faint glow of the core interface inside, the screen still displaying my mother's name and the red text I hadn't had time to read. Kingbreaker. Bloodline authentication confirmed. Sacrifice protocols available.
"I didn't kill the king," I said. "But I was there when he died."
Carson's jaw tightened. "And the tide gates?"
"I don't know. I don't remember." That part was true. The last thing I remembered from that night was my father's hand on the crown, the way the stone had started to crack, and then—
Nothing. Just three years of running and the sick feeling that I'd done something I couldn't take back.
The noble behind us laughed. "She doesn't remember. Perfect. So we're trusting the city to someone who might've killed us all and doesn't even know it."
"She saved the lower ward," Carson said. "Sealed the wall when the rest of you were busy running."
"Because you put a ring on her and gave her no choice."
"And I'll do it again if that's what it takes." Carson's voice was low. Dangerous. "You want to trade her for peace? Fine. Go shake hands with the envoy. See how long that peace lasts when the tide swallows the northern platform and comes for you next."
Silence.
Then a sound. Faint at first. A hum from above, like distant thunder or a voice carried on a channel I couldn't see.
The nobles looked up.
The sound grew louder. Clearer. And then I heard it. His voice. Adriel's voice, echoing through the hall like he was standing right beside me, amplified by something I couldn't name.
"Evelyn."
My blood went cold.
"I know you're listening. I know Carson has you locked down in that broken city, and I know you're scared. You should be."
Carson's hand was still on my wrist. I could feel his pulse through his palm. Fast. Angry.
"Six days," Adriel continued. "That's how long I'm giving Grayhaven to return what's mine. After that, I stop asking nicely. The tide's already inside your walls, Evelyn. You felt it, didn't you? When you touched the core. When you bled for it. It recognized you."
I had felt it. The pull. The hungry, cold weight of something vast and old pressing against the edges of the interface, waiting.
"You can run the core, but you can't control it. Not without the crown. And we both know where that is."
The nobles were staring at me now. All of them.
"Bring her to the northern platform," Adriel said. "I'll call off the envoy. I'll close the portals. All of it. But she comes with me, and she finishes what she started."
The broadcast cut off.
No one moved.
Then the first noble smiled. "Well. That simplifies things."
"No," Carson said.
"Six days and he closes the portals. That's more than you've offered."
"He's lying."
"Maybe. But he's also the only one with a solution."
Carson stepped between me and the nobles. His sword was still in his hand. "She's not going anywhere."
"You don't get to make that call."
"I'm making it anyway."
The noble's eyes narrowed. "Then you're a traitor twice over. Once to the crown, and now to this city."
"Call it what you want." Carson's voice didn't waver. "But if you try to move her, I'll gut you before you reach the stairs."
The tension in the hall was thick enough to choke on. I could see hands drifting toward belts, toward pockets. This was about to turn into a bloodbath, and I was the prize.
I stepped around Carson. Ignored his hiss of warning.
"You want a solution?" I said. "Fine. Give me access to the core. Full access. Not just the garrison interface. I'll close the portals myself."
The noble laughed. "You just said you don't remember how you opened them."
"I don't. But the core does. It has my mother's name in the archive. It has protocols I haven't seen yet. Give me time and I'll figure it out."
"And if you can't?"
"Then you hand me over on day six and hope Adriel keeps his word. What do you lose?"
Another pause. Longer this time.
Then the noble nodded. Slow. "Four days. You get four days to prove you can do what he's offering. After that, we revisit the deal."
"Six," Carson said.
"Four. And she works under guard. No more private archive visits. No more running off to play hero in the lower wards."
I opened my mouth to argue, but Carson's hand tightened on my wrist. A warning.
"Fine," I said.
The nobles left. One by one. The last one stopped at the end of the hall and looked back.
"Four days, girl. Don't waste them."
Then we were alone.
Carson let go of my wrist. Stepped back. His face was unreadable.
"How much of that broadcast did you hear before?" I asked.
"All of it."
My stomach dropped. "All of it."
"He's been transmitting for two days. Every six hours. Same message, different details. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you making stupid decisions."
"Like what?"
"Like running. Like bargaining. Like believing him."
I stared at him. "You think I'd go back?"
"I think you're desperate. Desperate people do desperate things." He sheathed his sword. Turned toward the archive. "Come on. If you've got four days, we're not wasting time out here."
I followed him inside. The core interface was still glowing on the wall, lines of text scrolling past too fast to read. Carson stopped in front of it. Reached out. Hesitated.
"What does kingbreaker mean?" he asked.
I didn't answer. I didn't know.
The screen flickered. New text appeared.
**CORE AUTHENTICATION CONFIRMED. BLOODLINE: VOSS. CLEARANCE LEVEL: RESTRICTED.**
**NEW PROTOCOLS AVAILABLE.**
A menu expanded. Most of it was locked. Gray text, red warning icons. But at the bottom, one line glowed white.
**SACRIFICE PROTOCOL — OLD KING'S ORDER.**
**REQUIRES ROYAL BLOODLINE TO ACTIVATE.**
Carson read it over my shoulder. I could feel the heat of him at my back, the tension coiling tighter.
"What is that?" he asked.
I reached for the screen. My hand hovered over the option. One touch and it would open. Show me what my father had locked away. What Adriel wanted. What the core had been waiting for.
Behind me, Carson's sword whispered out of its sheath again.
The tip pressed against the side of my neck. Just enough to break skin. I felt the sting, the warm trickle of blood.
"Don't," he said.
I didn't move. Didn't pull my hand back.
Footsteps echoed in the hall outside. Fast. Multiple people.
The door slammed open.
Mira stood there, knife in one hand, blood on her jacket. Three others behind her. Lower ward fighters, by the look of them. Armed.
"You press that button," Mira said, "and the whole city's gonna know exactly who you are."
My finger was still an inch from the screen.
Carson's blade pressed harder.
And somewhere above us, the faint hum of Adriel's voice started again.