Page 30 of Zayrik

Not just dangerous. Not just observant.He was patient.

And patience? That’s what broke people.

I exhaled slow. Didn’t break eye contact. But I did what I did best.

I deflected.

“So what?” I tipped my head, keeping my voicecasual, unimpressed. “You think you can glare me into confessing?”

Zayrik’s expression didn’t shift.Didn’t blink.His body remained close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him, smell the warm scent that clung to his skin.

“Worked, didn’t it?”

My fingers twitched. Damn him.

I could try lying again. Play dumb. Try making him think this was allone big unfortunate accident.

But it wasn’t. Andhe knew it.

I glanced at the ship’s readout again, the lines of datastaring back like ghosts I’d tried to outrun.

Vask’s network.

This ship was one ofhis.

Not anymore. Not now that Zayrik had won it in some backroom gambling den. But before?

It had been part of an illegal trade network. The same network I’d been running from. The one I’dbarelymanaged to slip through when I took the crystal.

I exhaled. “It’s not your problem.”

Zayrik’s jaw flexed.Not amused. His eyes darkened as he leaned in, just a fraction closer.

“Wrong,” irritation humming beneath the surface. “You’ve made it my problem.”

I wanted to argue. But... not this time. Because we had bigger issues.

Like the fact that I’d just confirmed he was tangled in something very, very bad.

He didn’t let up. Didn’t move away.

Just studied me like he could pick the truth apart, piece by piece.

“So,” he murmured, voice low. “Let me help.”

I hesitated. Not because I didn’t trust him. But because the second I told him the truth?

He’d eitherrun... orstay.

And staying?

That wouldget him killed.

Zep shifted on my shoulder, wings fluttering nervously. His claws dug slightly into my skin, a reassuring pressure. I exhaled through my nose, forcing my pulse to steady.

“You want the truth?” I asked, watching for the first flicker of a reaction. Any tell I could use.

“Fine. The ship? It’s bad news. It belonged to someone worse.”

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