Chapter 30 · Rust and Relic - Chapter 30: The Second Line in the Ledger

"Give me the book." Liv's hand was already on my wrist before I got the ledger open.

"We don't have time to read."

"Then make time." She twisted my arm back. The ledger hit the dirt between us.

We were crouched behind a half-collapsed grain store two blocks from the market square. Smoke still rose from where Greta's stall used to be. My ribs hurt from the crawl out. Liv's face was streaked with ash and something darker.

"She's gone," I said. "The jammer's still blinking. We need to move before Vald's priests triangulate the signal."

"I don't care about the signal." Liv grabbed the ledger, flipped it open. "I care about the name."

"What name?"

"The one who sold my tribe out." Her voice cracked on the last word. "Greta said it was in here. Second line. Second page."

I looked over her shoulder. The ink was faded, the script older than anything I'd seen since I landed in this nightmare. Most of it was numbers. Weights, maybe. Or kill counts.

"Liv, even if it's there—"

"It's there." She turned the page. Her hands were shaking. "It has to be."

Footsteps echoed from the alley behind us.