Chapter 30 · The Ash Ledger - Chapter 30: The Ones Who Won't Burn

The voting screen went dark at dawn. Rowan watched from the wall tower as the square below filled with people who'd been up all night watching Soren Dax's family behind glass. The vote passed. Eighty-two percent in favor. Save the city. Let his boy go.

Rowan's wrist burned.

The Ledger didn't wait.

**TESTIMONY PROTOCOL ACTIVE. CASUALTY TRANSFER UNLOCKED. TRUTH COSTS. LIES COMPOUND.**

Mara leaned against the doorframe behind him. "They're building a platform."

"I see it."

"For us?"

"Probably." Rowan turned. Her face was gray. She hadn't slept either. "The vote gave them permission. Now they want names."

"We don't have names. We have guesses and a death count that goes up every time you breathe wrong."

"They don't care." He looked back at the square. Carpenters hammered posts into the cobblestones. A scaffold. Steps. A rope already tied. "Soren gave them what they wanted. A villain. Now they need a confession."

Mara crossed her arms. "And if we don't give them one?"

Rowan's mark pulsed. He read the new line.

**SILENCE COSTS 40 PER HOUR. TESTIMONY COSTS 12 PER LIE DETECTED. CIVILIAN ENGAGEMENT MANDATORY.**

"We're feeding it either way," he said.

She swore under her breath.