Page 97 of Veil of Dust

My hands loosen.

I step back.

Let him go.

He slides slowly down the crates. Legs fold. His body makes a thud as it hits the floor.

His back rests against the wood. His head leans to the side. One hand holds his ribs.

His voice comes low, pained. “But I’m still yours to command. Even if I have to bleed for it.”

I stand over him, pulse racing.

Breathing like I just ran miles.

I stare down at the man who made drinks for my mother. Who fixed the wiring when the lights shorted in the middle of a storm. Who handed me a blade without blinking when Alfeo made his first move.

The betrayal tastes foul.

But under it…is grief.

And worse—under that…there’s still loyalty.

Still a piece of him that means it.

I crouch.

Not close. Not touching.

But near enough to look him dead in the eye.

“You want to fix this?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re going to feed her lies. From now on, everything she hears goes through us.”

He nods slowly.

“You’re going to give her the map we want her to see. The bodies we want her to chase. You’ll string her along until she’s neck-deep in our trap.”

“Yes.”

“And if I even think you’ve turned again—”

“You won’t need to kill me,” he says. “Because I’ll already be dead.”

I stare at him for another long second.

Then I push off my knees and rise.

I walk to the sink. Rinse my hands again. Red swirls down the drain like déjà vu.

Behind me, he stays as if rooted to the ground.

Just breathes.

Quiet. Broken.

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