Chapter 32 · After the Contract

Sephra's voice cut through the hall like a blade through silk.

"A displaced soul."

Wantang's breath stopped. The words hung in the air, and every eye in the Ash Court snapped to her. Sephra stood at the center of the chamber, her tribunal robes pristine, her expression calm as still water. "The woman before you is not Eveline Vey. She is a foreign consciousness wearing a dead girl's skin."

The crowd erupted. Voices crashed over each other, some shouting denial, others calling for immediate sentencing. Wantang's hands were ice. She'd known this card existed. She'd just hoped Sephra wouldn't burn it here.

Rowan moved before she could. He stepped in front of her, his shoulders squared, and the noise died like someone had cut the strings. His voice was flat. "You want proof she's different? Fine. I'll give you proof."

Wantang grabbed his sleeve. "Don't."

He didn't look back. "The woman I contracted with thirty days ago couldn't negotiate her way out of a grain deal. This one dismantled your entire case in an afternoon." He turned his head slightly, just enough that she could see the edge of his jaw. "If that's not Eveline Vey, then good.