Chapter 13 · The Judge Behind the Door

The archive goes dark and Julian's heartbeat stops.

Mara doesn't breathe. Doesn't move. The silence where his pulse should be feels like someone cut a hole in her chest and the whole world's draining out through it.

Elias stands in the doorway with that bone-white judge's mask on. The two hounds crouch at his feet, red eyes locked on her. He's holding a key that looks nothing like the one she just used. This one's got script running down the shaft, glowing faint gold, and she knows—she knows—that's the real one.

"You used the memory key," Elias says. His voice is calm. Too calm. "I told you it would open what you needed to see."

Mara's on her knees next to Julian. His chest isn't moving. She grabs his shoulder and shakes him and nothing happens. The bond's still there, faint and cold, but it's not pulling. It's not doing anything.

"What did you do?" Her voice cracks. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Elias steps into the archive. The hounds follow. The door swings shut behind them and the lock clicks. "I didn't do anything. You did. You rewrote the core contract with the wrong tool.