“No, let her speak. I’m most interested in this one. You call me a murderer?” The captain hummed, then held out his hand toward a Stav. A stack of folded parchment tied in rough twine was placed in Baldur’s palm. Baldur flipped one edge of the stack and clicked his teeth. “Do not take my word for it. See her betrayal for yourself, then tell me if you think differently of her, woman.”

I jolted when the parchment slapped against the floor in front of me.

Baldur perched one hip on the edge of a table, taking a slow gulp from a horn.

My fingers trembled, but I opened one folded parchment and scanned the simple words. Locations of river routes, guard rotations, and bone crafters. A knot thickened in my throat like bile. Vella’s name was signed in blood.

“Look at that last one,” Baldur said, tilting his chin.

I didn’t look at the captain; I lifted my attention to Roark. The Sentry was as stalwart as stone save the small curl to his lip when I picked up the last missive.

I saw the scars in her eyes. When the patrols leave Skalfirth, I will see to it that you have her and corruption will die at long last.

I shook my head. “No. This is wrong—”

“The woman was here to find the missing melder.”

“A bloodline that is dead,” Edvin bit out through his teeth. No mistake, the cries of his young ones were grating down his spine, and soon enough the man would snap.

“Yes, the child was supposedly slaughtered when the Draven armies raided,” Baldur said. “Yet there never was a corpse laid at the feet of our king. There was enough reason to believe she was taken and hidden that your king placed blood crafters throughout the realm, searching for a glimpse of melder blood.” The captain lowered to a crouch in front of me, teeth bared. “It is fortunate we intervened, or you would have been turned over to the ravagers of Skul Drek, perhaps the assassin himself. I hear the Draven queen gives the bastard agency to torture as he pleases.”

“Lyra is no melder.” Kael twisted against the guards holding him.

Roark’s face contorted in disgust when he looked down at us.

Baldur took his Sentry’s lead and faced Kael with a bite of controlled rage in his every word. “You, Darkwin, shall have to answer for the secrets you’ve kept.”

I let out a shriek of horror when a Stav kicked Kael in the ribs. He coughed and curled over his knees, spitting bile.

“Stop this!” I made a move to reach for Kael, but my blood grew cold when Baldur’s long fingers curled around my jaw, forcing my gaze to his.