Chapter 57. Echoes of Ruin

A kingdom burns fastest from within.

Harper’s suite had once been her sanctuary—minimal, elegant, and private. Now it felt like a pressure chamber. Her reflection in the mirror looked like smoke trapped in steel: eyes that saw too much, a face too disciplined to flinch. But her phone refused to let the illusion hold.

Red file unlocked. We know your weakness now.

—Lucien.

The message pulsed like a second heartbeat. That file was buried—sealed beneath triple-encryption, placed where only she could find it. Lucien shouldn’t have touched it. Not without help. Not unless someone had either turned him—or threatened him.

She dropped the phone into her clutch, smoothed her coat, and walked out. Her face had already shifted. It wasn’t a mask. It was armor.

***

Knox was waiting in the corridor.

He stood like a fuse already lit…and she realized—he wasn’t here to ignite her.

He was the ember that had kept her burning all along.