Chapter 9 · He Calls Her by a Name No One Knows

The name hit like ice water.

Gu Wantang.

Not Eveline. Not Lady Vey. The name she hadn't heard out loud since she woke up in this body, the name that belonged to a subway platform and a crisis negotiation unit and a world where magic didn't burn liars alive.

Rowan's hand locked around her wrist before she could process it. "We're going. Now."

She didn't argue. Couldn't. Her mouth had gone dry.

The corridor outside the courtroom was still packed with onlookers, but Rowan cut through them like they weren't there, his grip tight enough to bruise. She stumbled once. He didn't slow down.

"Who is she?" Wantang managed. Her voice came out thin.

"The favorite." Rowan didn't look back. "Elira Voss. Twenty-six. Royal attendant. She took the poison four days ago and they didn't think she'd wake up."

Four days. The same day Wantang had woken up in Eveline's body.

Her stomach turned.

They hit a stairwell and started climbing. The stone walls pressed close, the air colder here. Wantang's borrowed court shoes weren't made for running. She yanked her wrist free and kicked them off, kept moving barefoot.

"If Sephra gets to her first—" Rowan started.

"I know."