Chapter 19 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 19: The Road He Left

"You're lying."

Liv didn't look up from the note in her hand. Greta's handwriting was cramped, the ink cheap. The words didn't lie.

"I wish I was," Greta said. She was leaning against the doorframe of the backroom, arms crossed. "Your father met Bonewalker three months before the massacre. Twice. I saw them."

Aiden kept his mouth shut. He was still rubbing his wrists where the ropes had been. The auction hall noise bled through the walls—shouting, haggling, someone dragging something metal across stone.

Liv's knuckles went white around the paper. "Where."

"First time, north ridge. Second time, old mining camp near the border." Greta's voice was flat. "I was running furs. Saw them talking. Your father handed him something wrapped in cloth. Small. Heavy, from the way he carried it."

"What was it."

"Didn't get close enough." Greta pushed off the doorframe. "But three weeks later, Bonewalker's crew hit your village. You do the math."

Liv's jaw locked. Aiden saw the muscle jump.

"That doesn't mean he sold us out," Liv said.

"No. But it means he knew Bonewalker. And he didn't tell anyone."

Liv folded the note once, twice, shoved it into her belt.