Chapter 44 · "I'm not." "You were there." His eyes went

"I'm not."

"You were there."

His eyes went flat. "Yes."

"You watched them chain her."

"Yes."

"And you never told me."

"You were already carrying enough."

"Stop deciding what I can carry!"

Her voice cracked across the passage. The archive plates rattled.

Dax pushed away from the wall and came toward her. He was pale now, but he kept moving until only a breath separated them.

"You want the truth?" he asked. "I watched your sister refuse the final vow. I watched them use your name to force her down. I watched her take the mark meant for you. Then I lied about it because the only way to get her out was to make the bureau believe I had betrayed you."

Mara stared at him. "You said she was controlled."

"She was."

"You said she disappeared."

"She did."

"You said you didn't know where she went."

"I didn't."

"What aren't you saying now?"

His face came closer. "That she knew this network would wake again."

"And?"

"That she left you a choice."

"What choice?"

Dax glanced at Mara's hand. "Her route. Or me."

Mara's throat tightened. "That doesn't make sense.