Chapter 27 · He killed me

"He killed me," it whispered.

Dax went rigid.

The black fire around him flickered.

"He was there," the corpse said. "He watched me die. He let them blame you."

My chest tightened.

Dax's grip loosened by an inch.

The corpse smiled.

I saw the mask again.

Not in its face.

In Dax's.

He knew the accusation was true.

Maybe not the killing. Maybe not the watching. But he knew something about Liora's death, something he had buried under that hard voice and those orders.

"Dax," I said.

He didn't look at me.

"Is that true?"

The corpse drove an elbow into his ribs. He staggered but held on.

"Mara, destroy it."

"Answer me."

"Not now."

"You were there?"

The corpse laughed. "Ask him. Ask your brave enforcer why he wore the city's mark when your sister died."

Dax's face changed.

Just a fraction.

Enough.

I looked at the broken seal plate in my hand. Lines of old vow-script covered its surface.