Chapter 35 · Her Sister's Price

"Put the book on the table, Silas. Now."

Kaela’s voice didn't shake, but the blade did. The tip was pressed hard into the back of my hand—the one holding the Ledger. One wrong twitch, one sudden breath, and she’d carve the skin right off my knuckles.

I didn't move. I didn't blink. I just looked at her. The weird part? I didn't feel it. No cold sweat. No hammering heart. Just a flat, empty space where my panic used to live.

"You're shaking," I said. My voice sounded wrong. Too smooth. Too cold. "Is it because you want to kill me, or because you know you can't?"

"Shut up!"

She stepped closer, leather boots creaking. She crowded into my space, smelling of rain and old steel. She pressed the blade deeper, drawing a thin line of red.

"Varric has her. He has Elara," she hissed. "If I don't bring him the Ledger by dawn, he'll burn her contract and sell her soul to the pits. Do you even get what that means?"

I looked down at the Ledger. The pages were humming, a low vibration rattling up my arm. It didn't care about Elara.