Chapter 19 · The Massacre File

Lucas doesn't move.

He's standing three feet from Vera, and his hand's still on the holster. The black warrant's folded in his jacket pocket. I can see the edge of it, official Guild seal and all.

Drake's staring at him like he's trying to read his partner's mind.

"What did my father trade?" Drake asks again. His voice is flat now. Dangerous.

Lucas glances at Vera. She's got her arms crossed, silver bracers glinting under the monastery lights. Her face is blank. Professional.

"Tell him," Vera says. "Or I will."

Lucas swears under his breath. He pulls a folded paper from his inner pocket. Not the warrant. Something else. The edges are yellowed, like it's been sitting in an archive for decades.

"Your father didn't trade you," Lucas says. "He traded information."

Drake takes a step forward. "What information?"

"A location." Lucas unfolds the paper halfway. I can see typed lines, official stamps. "St. Stone Monastery. Four hundred years ago, there was a massacre here. Thirty-two Darkborn. The Guild said it was a rogue nest. Self-defense."

I go cold.

Thirty-two.

That's the exact number my mother told me.