Page 52 of Zenith Tower

Hale’s hand came up behind him, but Kieran found his balance before it reached him. Gray showed beneath the brown of his skin, and his right hand stayed close to his body as he walked. Hale let his hand fall but remained half a step behind. Caspian took the other side without touching, ready if Kieran faltered again.

The long table stood beneath the same flat wall lights. Three readers sat behind it with their papers arranged in front of them. The administrator occupied the chair at the center. Marrow stood behind her left shoulder.

Water ran through a shallow channel at the base of the far wall. It made none of the noise that had protected our conversation two days earlier. Every word spoken here belonged to the record.

They seated Kieran between Hale and me. Caspian took the chair on my other side.

The administrator reached for the first page.

“Why do you keep measuring his decline instead of treating it?” I asked.

Her hand stopped.

One of the readers looked toward Marrow. A second lowered her pen to the paper.

The administrator kept her attention on me. “The healer is treating his pain and respiratory symptoms.”

“After they happen. His Mark is getting worse every day.”

“An intervention made without understanding the cause could accelerate the damage.”

I thought of silver leads fixed along Delphine’s arm. “You already proved that with Delphine.”

The reader’s pen stopped before it touched the page.

Marrow shifted behind the administrator. She did not look back at him.

“Moreau’s case is under separate review,” she said.

“Her Mark broke here. It isn’t separate from anything.”

Caspian’s sleeve brushed mine beneath the table. He did not pull me back.

The administrator closed the folder she had been about to open. “What treatment are you asking me to authorize?”

“One that begins with telling Kieran what you think is happening to him.”

Her attention shifted to Kieran.

He sat with his left hand braced against the edge of the chair. The effort of crossing the Tower had left sweat at his temples.

“Describe the sensation in your shoulder today,” she said.

“It burns.” His voice was quieter than it had been in the corridor. “Not only when I move now. My whole right forearm went numb this morning. It lasted almost a minute.”

His right hand twitched against his coat. He closed the fingers slowly, watching to make sure they obeyed.

Hale’s hand tightened on the back of Kieran’s chair.

“Has the pattern changed?” the administrator asked. “Not how much it hurts or how far the numbness travels. Does it feel different?”

Kieran looked at her more carefully. “That’s a very specific question.”

“Answer it.”

He drew a shallow breath. “It used to feel like the line was failing. Now it pulls toward Astra. Hard enough to move beneath my skin.”

No pen moved.