Page 176 of Maksym

“No,” she said, and it came out almost inaudible.

“Louder, please.”

“No.”

“Did you know Madelyn would be chained to an altar?”

“No.”

Her tears spilled again.

I let the silence breathe, but not for long.

“Were you present at the ritual site before Sage died?”

“No.”

“Did you see Nikolay Kozlov enter the clearing?”

“No.”

“Did you see Sage Lynch shift?”

“No.”

“Did you see Sage Lynch lunge?”

“No.”

“Did you see Nikolay strike first?”

“No.”

“Then you cannot tell this Council Nikolay murdered Sage Lynch.”

Loralee’s mouth trembled.

“I can tell them Sage is dead,” she said.

The chamber stilled.

There it was. The human, useless, devastating truth beneath all legal structures. Sage was dead. She loved him. Grief wanted an object. Grief wanted someone living to blame because the dead were too quiet to answer questions.

My voice softened by a degree. Not enough to blunt the question. Enough to acknowledge the wound.

“Yes,” I said. “You can.”

Her shoulders shook once.

“But you cannot tell them Nikolay murdered him.”

The truth spell vibrated beneath us.

Loralee closed her eyes.

“No,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

I looked at her for another moment.