Chapter 34 · The Verdict Under Moonlight

"You don't get to do this alone."

Kael's hand closed around my wrist before I could step forward. The wolves circled us, their eyes reflecting silver under the fractured skylight. Asher stood on the far side of the ritual floor, blood dripping from his palm onto the ancient stone.

"Let go," I said.

"No."

"Kael—"

"You think I survived six years in that hole just to watch you throw yourself at him?" His grip tightened. "Whatever you're planning, we do it together."

Asher laughed. The sound echoed off the vaulted ceiling. "How touching. The convict and the fraud, united at last."

I yanked my wrist free and took three steps toward him. The wolves didn't move. They just watched, heads low, hackles raised.

"You want a verdict?" I kept my voice level. "Fine. Let's do this properly."

Asher's smile faltered. "What?"

"You heard me." I stopped at the edge of the circle carved into the floor. "You've been screaming about the law for fifteen years. About bloodlines and purity and who gets to stand where. So let's put it to the law. Right here. Right now."

"There's no court here, Sienna."

"There's moonlight. There's witnesses." I gestured at the wolves.