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And so did he.

At least from the trail.

I had spent days wondering how far this conspiracy reached.

Now I had a different question.

How many people had found it before me?

And what happened to the ones who kept looking?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Veyr

The contact came through a channel that should not have existed anymore.

That was the first problem.

The second was that I recognized it.

I had been awake for less than an hour when the terminal gave a single pulse. No alert. No visible routing request. Just one low vibration against the table.

I stopped moving.

Across the room, Talia did not look up. She sat near the far wall with her own screen angled toward her, rebuilding the absent prince’s access trail for the third time.

We had barely spoken since waking.

Necessary questions. Relevant findings. Nothing else.

No touching. No unnecessary conversation. No asking whether she had slept.

I understood the boundary.

Understanding did not make it easier.

The terminal pulsed again.

Once.

Then twice.

My attention sharpened.

That sequence had been used by the Veil years ago when ordinary communication was considered too exposed.

A Ghost did not answer unless recognition was intentional.

I crossed the room.

Talia glanced up this time. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Her expression changed immediately.

I heard the answer as soon as it left my mouth.