Page 167 of Reaper Said Mine

Maybe.

But I know the shape of this now. Dawson wants obedience. Theryki wants leverage. Zune wants discrediting. Gobold wants militarized clarity. Every one of them depends on controlling what people are allowed to believe.

I am done asking permission to tell the truth.

Gnash steps closer. “And if Zune escalates?”

“He will.”

“Yes.”

“Then we document that too.”

“He may target more than your credibility.”

The words fall heavily, and no one in the room pretends not to understand them.

My mouth goes dry.

I think of the assassin pulse crossing the press rail, the smoking shield tag, the cut at my temple, Mina asking if Gnash loved me, Dawson threatening my career from a newsroom lit in corporate blue, and Zune smiling gently while feeding the galaxy reasons to dismiss me before the bodies start falling.

Fear moves through me, and I let it.

Then I look at Gnash.

“I’m scared,” I say.

The room goes painfully quiet.

His face changes, protective fury softening around something deeper. “I know.”

“But I’m not stopping.”

“I know that too.”

“I need you to not make the fear bigger by trying to take over.”

His jaw flexes.

Vakka looks suddenly fascinated by the floor.

Skahar smiles faintly, the traitor.

Gnash breathes in through his nose and releases it slowly. “I will not take over.”

“Thank you.”

“I will stand beside you.”

“That I can work with.”

“And if someone comes for you with a weapon, I will remove them from existence.”

“That also seems reasonable.”

Vakka lifts one hand. “I support this policy.”

“I assumed,” I say.