Chapter 22 · The Dead File

"She's not breathing."

Mira's voice cut through the stone hall. I hit my knees next to the body before Kael could stop me.

Not a body. Not yet.

The woman on the floor wore Shattered Keep gray, blood pooling under her ribs. Her lips were blue. Foam at the corner of her mouth, white with a green tinge.

"Poison," I said. My hands were already on her neck, feeling for a pulse. Faint. Thread-thin. "How long?"

"Ten minutes." Mira crouched across from me, face blank. "Maybe less. I found her when I came back from the wall."

Kael stood behind me, silent. I could feel his eyes on my back.

"Who is she?" I asked.

Mira didn't answer right away. She reached into the woman's jacket and pulled out a folded paper, edges scorched. "Her name was Lira. Intel runner. She was carrying this."

She held it out. Kael took it before I could.

I pressed two fingers under Lira's jaw, counting beats. Fourteen per minute. Dropping.

"Nora."

Kael's voice had gone flat.

I looked up. He was staring at the paper in his hand, and his face had lost all color.

"What is it?"

He didn't answer.