Chapter 34 · The Inspector's Chain

The heir's scream tore through the ballroom.

It was not a human sound. It began as a gasp, sharpened into a child's cry, and ended in a blast of blue-white fire that rolled across the marble floor. Silk curtains ignited. Crystal chandeliers burst overhead, spraying the guests with glittering shards. The orchestra scattered from their instruments as the musicians dove behind the stage.

Lio threw herself sideways.

Dragonfire struck the place where her chest had been and carved a molten line through the floor. Heat slapped her face. Her borrowed mask blackened at the edges, and the smell of scorched velvet filled her lungs.

Across the ballroom, the heir stood with his head bowed. Blood ran from his nose and dripped onto his white collar. Beneath his skin, something moved—four points of pale gold pulsing under his throat like a second heartbeat.

Liora Vane.

The dead name still rang in Lio's skull.

Six years ago, that name had belonged to a woman trapped inside Tower Nine while the city burned around her. Six years ago, Liora had died under falling steel and a sky split open by magic.