Page 21 of Zenith Tower

I took the order before the healer could set it down.

“Why did they change their minds?”

“The infirmary requested his history. Review still requires an independent comparison.”

Hale held out his hand for the page. I gave it to him.

“Will the infirmary receive the copy?” he asked.

“The readers will receive anything relevant to his care.”

Hale read it twice. He passed the order to Caspian.

Caspian read it carefully. “The original stays with Kieran.”

“As he requested,” Marrow said. “The copy must be complete, made under witness, and delivered by first bell tomorrow.”

He left the healer in the doorway.

Hale waited until the door closed before kneeling beside Kieran’s satchel. He lifted out a spare shirt, a wrapped heel of bread gone hard at the edges, and an oilskin packet from the bottom.

“You knew where it was,” I said.

“I’ve watched him add to it for years.”

Inside the oilskin lay a narrow leather ledger, its cover softened by handling. The first pages held dates and careful observations in Kieran’s smallest handwriting. Farther in, thelines slanted harder across the paper. Corrections crowded the margins.

The healer set the paper and ink on the table and remained in the doorway while we worked.

Caspian copied. I turned the pages. Hale checked each line against the original before the ink dried.

The ledger held the history Kieran had given us in fragments. Pain beginning at the shoulder. Numbness reaching the fingers. Days when an apple became too heavy for his right hand. Nights when the Mark burned hot enough to wake him.

Between the measurements were notes no healer had asked for.

Hale noticed the tremor. Told him I slept badly. He pretended to believe me.

A few pages later:

Green-gold line appeared after Astra’s practicum. Shoulder pain increased before midnight. Did not tell her.

My hand stopped on the edge of the page.

The healer shifted at the door. “Keep moving.”

Caspian looked up sharply.

“It’s all right,” I said.

I turned the page.

We worked through the night. Caspian numbered and signed every copied sheet. Hale signed beneath him as witness. Before the first bell, I wrapped the original ledger in its oilskin and returned it to the bottom of Kieran’s satchel.

Marrow inspected the copy when he returned.

“Where will you take it?” I asked.

“To review.”