Chapter 24 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 24: Level Up, Light Up

"Don't." I caught Liv's wrist before she could lunge at Greta.

Greta didn't flinch. She leaned back against the ridge wall, arms crossed, watching us like we were dinner theater. "Go ahead. Push me off. See if the merchant network forgets."

"They'll forget you existed," Liv said. Her voice was flat. Dead. The kind of quiet that came right before someone did something they couldn't walk back from.

I tightened my grip. "Liv."

"Let go."

"No."

She turned on me. Her eyes were dry but her face was wrecked. "My father sold us out for coin. The elders let Vald's priests walk in and take the stone because they were paid to look the other way. Everyone I knew is dead because someone wanted a profit margin."

"I know."

"Then let go."

"Killing her doesn't bring them back."

Greta snorted. "Smart boy."

"Shut up," I snapped at her without looking. To Liv I said, "You want revenge? Fine. Get in line. But if you throw her off this cliff we lose the only person who knows how the factions move. We lose our map."

"I don't need a map. I need blood.