Chapter 12 · Her Name on the Sacrifice List

The ledger was real. Rin could feel the weight of it in Kael's coat pocket as they moved through the narrow alleys behind the public archive. Her palm still burned where the black shard had lodged itself, a thin line of heat that pulsed every time her heart beat too fast. Which was now. Because Varric's hunters weren't far behind.

"How many?" Kael's voice was low, barely a breath. He didn't look back. Didn't need to. The footsteps were getting louder.

"Three. Maybe four." Rin pressed her back to the wall, felt the cold stone through her torn sleeve. The scar on her palm throbbed. "They're not hiding anymore."

"Good." Kael's hand went to his blade. "I'm tired of pretending we're not being hunted."

She wanted to laugh. Or scream. The man had no sense of self-preservation. "You do remember the part where they want us dead, right?"

"They want you dead." He glanced at her, and there was something sharp in his eyes. Something that made her chest tighten. "I'm just in the way."

The footsteps stopped. Rin's breath caught. Silence was worse. Silence meant they were close enough to hear, close enough to aim.

"Move.