Chapter 45 · Three Minutes to Open the Gate

"You don't get to call me guilty while this city is still standing because of my hands."

My voice cut through the hearing chamber before the guards could drag the witness back through the service door.

Every head turned.

The girl beside me stumbled. Her bare feet slapped against the black stone, and the chain around her wrist scraped across the floor.

Ronan caught her before she hit the ground.

"Don't touch her," Director Sorn snapped. "High Warden, step away from the criminal."

Ronan's grip tightened on the girl's shoulder. His other hand hovered near my back, close enough for his body heat to bleed through my torn jacket.

"Call her a criminal again," he said, "and I'll make you explain that word to the whole city."

Sorn's face darkened. "You're under council authority."

"Not over my conscience."

The chamber erupted.

Seven wall screens showed the council seal, the city's flood maps, and my name in block letters beneath the charges.

MARA VOSS—ILLEGAL ACCESS TO TIDE GATES.

FRAUD AGAINST THE FLOOD DEFENSE FUND.

SABOTAGE OF GATE SEVEN.

That last line twisted my stomach.

I pointed at the screens. "You forged those charges after Gate Seven saved the harbor.