Chapter 24 · Before the Warrant Hits Zero

"Get your hands off him!" Lyra drove her elbow into the Warrant Marshal's throat before his chain could close around Caelan's neck.

The marshal staggered. Caelan dropped to one knee, one hand pressed against the black veins crawling up his throat. His other hand still gripped the trapped child's coat.

"Lyra, move," he rasped.

"Not without the kid."

"That wasn't a request."

Three silver rifles snapped up around them.

The square had gone silent. Hundreds of people stood behind the iron barriers, watching the public warrant burn across the courthouse wall. Red numbers flashed beneath Caelan's name.

00:04:17.

Four minutes until the warrant executed.

Four minutes until the city accepted his death as legal.

And above that timer, a second line pulsed in smaller letters.

UNVERIFIED HEIR. EVIDENCE REQUIRED.

Lyra shoved the child behind her and pulled the contract knife from her boot.

"Everybody back," she shouted. "The first person who touches him loses a hand."

A few spectators laughed. They stopped when the knife lit up with blue script.

The Warrant Marshal wiped blood from his lip. His gaze dropped to the blade, then rose to Lyra's face.

"You brought a contract breaker into a royal execution?" he asked.