Chapter 125

Mara’s POV

The red line reached the Witness ring before Ronan entered. I'd held the tablet across the two palm marks for an hour, shifting it whenever the old stone trembled. The House wanted to close an unanswered priority. It had found an easier target than Ronan’s hand: Joren, the guard who had left the threshold two days earlier to help Mira, had returned after her ankle was set. This time a different service route caught him on his way to ask whether she had reached home. His knees bent as the command spread through the ring. Freeing one shift had not freed every part of the House.

“Release his route,” I said.

The House demanded the Warden’s confirmation.

The demand had barely formed when Ronan stepped through the doorway. Snow melted on his shoulders. Grimm came in at his side, wary of the red light and of me. Ronan saw the g