Page 110 of Zenith Tower

Lior had received it. He had done exactly what she asked.

Then I remembered the sealed room beneath the Tower and Delphine asking me not to forget her while I was being careful.

“I need to tell her.”

“The Council denied your request this morning.”

I reached past him and shut off my water. I would find another reason to ask.

The steward struck the doorframe with his knuckles. “Time.”

Caspian shut off the water. His hand closed briefly around mine, wet and cold.

“Don’t mention the courier where Marrow can hear.”

I nodded. His thumb moved once over my knuckles before he let me go.

We returned to separate rooms.

I spent half the night deciding which rule might still contain enough room to use.

Delphine found one before I did.

Marrow came for me after breakfast with a written request folded in his hand.

“Moreau has refused her scheduled statement unless you attend as a witness.”

I pushed away from the edge of the bed. “What statement?”

“She submitted a complaint regarding the classification of her case. The administrator ordered it entered before Council review of her status, with one copy lodged in her office. I agreed to let Moreau speak. You are there to confirm what you witnessed at Zenith Hall, and you will not touch her.”

His gaze moved to the three completed lines at my wrist. I pulled my sleeve down over them before standing.

Two stewards escorted us to Delphine’s room. Marrow opened the door but did not enter. A clerk sat at the small table with two stacks of paper, ink, and a Council ledger arranged in front of her. Delphine waited on the bed, fully dressed, her dark hair combed back from a face that had recovered some of its color.

The blanket was folded beside her.

“Astra will sit beside the clerk,” Marrow said. “The door remains open. Any physical contact ends the interview.”

Delphine looked at me. “He has explained that already.”

I sat across from her. The clerk dipped her pen and waited.

“You asked for me.”

“I asked for someone who saw what happened at Zenith Hall. They sent a reader. I told her I would wait for you.”

The clerk looked between us. “May we begin?”

“In a moment.” I kept my hands folded in my lap. “I have news from outside.”

Delphine’s attention sharpened.

I could not tell her how the message reached us. Marrow stood close enough to hear every word, and the clerk had already placed her pen against the page.

“Lior kept your letters.”

Delphine did not move.