Chapter 30 · Voidbound - Chapter 30: The Files They Burned

"Don't touch that."

Mira's hand froze an inch from the file drawer. The voice came from behind her, cold and clipped—Guild command tone. She turned slow, keeping her fingers visible.

Commander Yaris stood in the archive doorway, two enforcers flanking him. Both had their sidearms drawn.

"Step back from the cabinet, Inspector."

She didn't move. "I'm cleared for this floor."

"Not anymore." Yaris walked forward, boots echoing on stone. The enforcers spread wider, cutting off the side exits. "Your access was revoked eleven minutes ago. The moment you let that boy walk out of the Pits alive."

Kael. She felt the weight of his name like a hand around her throat. He'd made it to the archive entrance, seen his birth date on that first file, and she'd shoved him toward the back stairwell before the lockdown hit. Whether he got out—she didn't know. Couldn't think about it now.

"He's seventeen," Mira said. "The Pact wasn't his choice."

"The creature bonded to him killed four Guild officers in Prague." Yaris stopped three feet away. Close enough she could see the verdict already written in his eyes. "You knew what he was. You had your orders."

"I had questions.