But that judgment will only come if the proof is undeniable.
One loose thread. One unanswered question. One explanation Kazren can twist to his advantage, and he walks away knowing exactly how close we’ve come. He’ll disappear deeper than before, taking the mole, the evidence and every chance of finding the truth with him. And take Miro with him because she was the one who found him.
“The evidence is still circumstantial. He’ll claim the clearance was exploited, that someone spoofed his signature the way every other trail in this system got scrubbed,” I say.
She pulls up the infrastructure schematic and taps an intersection. “The network, sure. But this isn’t on the network.” She zooms in. “See this? It’s a hardwired circuit from the old build. Predates the digital system entirely. Every time someone opens the main backbone panel, the physical contact trips and logs the clearance signature onto a drive that isn’t connected to anything. No remote access. No way to wipe it from a terminal. Kazren’s signature will be sitting on that drive right now, timestamped, and he can’t touch it because he doesn’t even know it exists.”
I look at her. At the way her fingers still rest on the screen, sure of what she’s found. At the sharpness in her voice, the exhaustion underneath it, the fact that she’s still here doing this for me despite everything she learned while I was away.
This female. I don’t deserve her. But I’m not willing to hand her back. The evidence will not only stop my brother — it’s what I need to keep her safe.
“I’ll retrieve the panel myself,” I say, already reaching for my jacket. “You stay here. Don’t leave these rooms until I come back.”
She nods, but the movement lacks conviction. Her fingers tighten around the edge of the blanket, and she watches me with the same troubled expression she’s worn ever since I returned. It doesn’t fit the progress we’d made tonight. We’d found Kazren. We finally had a path to proof. We should be moving towards something together, yet she looks as though we’re standing at the edge of a cliff instead.
“Zavin…”
She holds my eyes for a long moment. Her chemistry shifts faster than I can separate it, resolve tangling with fear before both disappearbeneath the careful control she’s worn ever since I returned. Her lips part once.
At last, I think she’s going to tell me what happened while I was gone.
“I…” The word barely leaves her mouth. She closes her eyes briefly, shakes her head and lets the moment die.
“Be careful,” she says quietly. “Kazren’s smart. If we worked out where the physical logs are kept, there’s a chance he has too. He could already be on his way there. It could be a trap.”
Concern softens her chemistry, and I don’t doubt it’s genuine. Even now she’s thinking about my safety before her own. Yet the feeling never comes alone. The wall she’s been holding between us is still there, hidden behind another smaller truth. Whatever happened while I was gone, whatever frightened her badly enough to leave tears on her face, she’s still carrying it by herself.
I cradle her face between my hands. Her eyes close for the briefest moment, leaning into my touch before she catches herself again. I brush my thumb across her cheek and kiss her gently.
“I’ll take Resh with me,” I murmur. “We’ll recover the logs, and then I’ll come straight back.”
What I don’t say is that once those logs are in my hands, everything changes. The evidence will bring Kazren down. My father won’t have a choice. House Sethrak was built on loyalty, and betrayal is the one crime no rank or bloodline can survive. Once Kazren falls, I’m getting Miro off Vahiri. Not next week. Not after everything settles. Immediately.
She deserves a life where she never has to look over her shoulder again. Somewhere so far from House Sethrak that neither my brother nor anyone loyal to him can ever reach her.
And maybe…
Maybe when this is over, I’ll leave with her.
The thought should feel impossible. Instead it feels dangerously achievable, and once it takes hold I can’t make myself let it go.
Her fingers curl around my wrists, a line forming between her brows. “What is it?”
“Something I’d rather tell you when this is over.” I brush my mouth over hers. The sooner I get the node, the sooner I can plan our future.
But first I will deal with my brother.
“I won’t be long.”
Miro’s eyes bounce over my face as though she’s trying to memorize me. I find myself doing exactly the same thing before forcing my feet to move. I wait until the security door seals behind me, listening for the locks to engage. Only then do I turn towards the lift, bringing my wrist comm to life.
“Resh.”
He answers on the third pulse, his voice thick with sleep. “My lord.”
“I need you in the lower maintenance levels immediately.”
There isn’t a moment’s hesitation. “I’m on my way.”
