Page 146 of Zenith Tower

My mother had answered that danger by hiding me from it.

For nineteen years, her choice worked. Then Lindenarrived, and I learned the cost of being protected by a silence I had never chosen.

A scrape sounded at the bottom of the door.

A folded page slid beneath it, the black wax already broken so it could pass through the narrow gap.

I dried my hands on my skirt before picking it up.

By order of Council Enforcer Walkin, Astra Verita will present herself at the east hearing chamber upon first bell. Associated residents and entered witnesses will be conveyed under separate guard. Failure to appear will be entered as refusal of review and evidence of instability requiring immediate containment.

There it was. Walkin had written flight into the record before giving me the chance to choose it.

I read the order again, searching for Delphine’s name. None of us were named beyond me.Associated residents. Entered witnesses.Kieran, Caspian, Hale, and Delphine reduced to their usefulness in my proceeding before Walkin had entered the room.

I carried the page to the bed and set it beside the map.

I could not find freedom on either side of the map. I saw different dangers, and a fight over who would describe what happened next.

I dressed without knowing which way I would leave the room.

My boots were still damp from the water I had spilled. I pulled them on anyway and tightened the laces until my returning fingers objected. I exchanged my torn oversleeve for the heavier one Caspian had found among the Tower clothes. The wool would drag if we reached the wet passage, but the air beyond the dock would be cold. I pinned my hair close.

I washed the blood from my cuffs. I fastened the high collar and left my sleeves loose enough to draw back without assistance. I folded Walkin’s order and placed it against my wrist, where the paper rested over all three completed lines.

Whatever I chose, the same clothes would have to serve.

A quiet pressure gathered through the silver line.

Caspian was close.

The lock turned before I could move toward it. The door opened only far enough for the administrator to enter. A steward remained beyond her shoulder with a block of black wax and Walkin’s seal already warming in his hand.

“You’re early,” I said.

“For the escort, yes.”

She closed the door without locking it. Her gaze went to the map on the bed, the loosened hem of my skirt, and the hearing order beside them. She did not pretend not to understand.

“The route remains open until the first bell,” she said.

I looked at the map. “You put us at the western junction on purpose.”

“I arranged for the hearing parties to be held at the western junction before transfer. Walkin cannot stop me from putting you there while I still hold authority. What follows will belong to them.”

She had given us a chance to run without ordering us to take it.

She crossed to the bed and touched the edge of Walkin’s order.

“If you leave, the record outside this mountain may be enough to force an inquiry. It may also give the Council time to discredit every page before anyone can compel testimony. If you stay, Walkin may close the hearing before Delphine speaks.”

“Hale thinks we use the route if they do.”

“The route will not remain open simply because you still need it.”

I looked at the map. “What would you choose?”

The administrator was quiet long enough that I thought she might refuse.