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Past tense.

I almost laughed.

Not because anything was funny. Because suddenly the entire thing was so obvious I could not believe I had missed it.

“He thinks you’re dead.”

“Yes.”

“If we go to the Crown, he sees you.”

“Yes.” He didn’t look away when he said it. That surprised me.

“And then what?”

Veyr looked at the wall above my shoulder instead of at me. “Then operational secrecy is compromised.”

There it was.

Duty.

Again.

I stared at him. “Operational secrecy.”

“Yes.”

“You mean the Veil.”

“Yes.” One word. Flat.

“The Veil that fabricated my mission.”

He exhaled through his nose. “One compromised mission does not prove the entire institution⁠—”

“You just spent the last chapter investigating the institution.”

His expression hardened, and his ŭre pulsed once beneath his wrists like a warning flare. “That does not erase my obligations.”

I actually laughed then. One short, disbelieving sound. “Of course.”

“Talia.” My name came out low, almost a growl.

“No.” I shook my head. “I finally get it.”

“You do not.” His voice cut.

“I think I do.”

I stepped toward him. “The enemy wants me away from the Crown because the Crown might expose what they’re doing.”

His face gave me nothing.

“And you want me away from the Crown because the Crown might expose you.”

His eyes sharpened. “That is not the same thing.”

“No.” I nodded. “It’s worse.”