Chapter 126

Ronan’s POV

The stone under Mara’s hand shivered. Joren had gone to the gate on his own feet, but the order that caught him was still there, hunting for someone else. I could feel it testing each doorway as I crossed the chamber.

“The House knows I’m here,” I said.

“It has known for an hour.” She passed me the rubbing she had taken from beneath the broken seat. “Read the lower line too.”

The first line offered to end the emergency Crown. The lower one described what would happen afterward: every person held by its old orders would be given a way out. Some wards we relied on might fall quiet until local teams agreed to take them over. Mara had marked the risk beside each example she knew. She hadn't hidden it to make my answer easier.

Ilyra arrived from the outer arch while I read. She took one look a