Chapter 28 · I didn't open that gate

She snatched the folder from him and opened it.

The first page listed the massacre in precise lines. Twenty-seven dead. Three Crown officers missing. One spellbreaker accused of opening the gate.

Her name appeared at the bottom.

Mara's grip tightened until the paper bent. "I didn't open that gate."

"I know."

"You said you knew before. Then you kept me chained to your curse."

"Because the curse is the only thing stopping the black fire from taking your mind."

"You could've told me."

"Would you have believed me?"

"No. But I would've known you were lying."

Cael took the page from her and turned it over. "Look at the witness mark."

She leaned in.

A small silver symbol sat under the final signature. Three hooked lines inside a circle.

Mara knew that mark.

Her breath caught. "No."

"You recognize it."

"It was Evelyn's field seal."

"Your mentor's?"

"She used it for emergency arrests. She taught me how to draw it when I was seventeen."

"Then you know what it means."

Mara stared at the symbol. "It means she was there."

"She signed the order."

"That doesn't mean she killed them."

"No. It means she watched."

"Shut up."

"Mara.