Chapter 22 · The Mark Reads the Truth

"Take your hand off me, Carson."

His fingers closed tighter around my wrist.

The crown-shaped mark burned through my skin. Red lines crawled from my palm toward my veins, bright enough to stain the command room walls. My knees dipped.

Carson caught me before I hit the floor.

"If I let go, you'll fall."

"Then let me fall."

"No."

That one word cut deeper than the pain.

Six council guards blocked the open doors. Silver coats. City seals. Three pairs of binding cuffs. The captain held a folded warrant between two fingers like he couldn't wait to slap it in my face.

"Ivy Mercer," he called. "By order of the High Council, you're under arrest for false royal claims, sabotage, and unlawful access to the shield command system."

I laughed, but it came out cracked. "False royal claims? You were calling me a traitor ten minutes ago. Pick one."

"Ivy," Carson muttered.

"What?"

"Stop making this worse."

"I'm not the one dragging armed men into a sealed command room."

The captain crossed the threshold. "Commander Rook, move aside.