Chapter 38 · That is literally what the council pays you to do

"That is literally what the council pays you to do."

Calian's hand found mine behind his back. His fingers locked with mine, hard enough to hurt.

Sevryn noticed.

His gaze dropped to our joined hands, then returned to Calian's face.

"You broke protocol," he said. "You tied your oath to an unregistered civilian. You let her interfere with a council operation. And now you're willing to burn the city for her."

"I'm not burning anything."

"Then prove it."

The control rod struck the floor.

Every blue line in the chamber turned red.

The pain hit so fast I couldn't scream. My knees folded. Calian went down with me, one hand still gripping mine and the other braced against the stone.

Through the roar in my skull, I heard Noah yelling.

"Lia! Don't touch the ring!"

I looked at the center of the chamber.

The control ring had risen from the floor. It hovered above a column of red light, spinning like a piece of broken machinery. Symbols flashed across its surface—not numbers, not some neat council code.