Chapter 23 · Worth More Alive

The summons came an hour after dawn.

Veran stood in the outer vestry with the sealed envelope in his hand. Red wax. The High Priestess's personal seal. He didn't need to open it to know what it said.

Bring in the girl. Silence the foreigner. Keep your badge.

He broke the seal anyway.

The wording was cleaner than he expected. Ella Faran had violated sacred protocol by accessing the city prayer grid without authorization. She was to be detained and held for ecclesiastical trial. Mark Chen remained a security risk and should be transferred to isolated custody pending final disposition.

Isolated custody.

They didn't even bother lying anymore.

Veran folded the letter and slid it into his coat. Across the vestry, his partner's old locker still had a dent in the door from the time they'd tackled a drunk charlatan in here. Four years ago. Back when the job felt clean.

He touched the badge on his chest. Cold bronze. The church seal worn smooth under his thumb.

He could do it. Walk into Toria's building, drag Ella out by the wrist, hand her over. They'd give him a commendation. Maybe a promotion.