Gale’s face flushed, his relaxed stance forgotten as hepointed a finger in Aya’s face. “You—”
Aya grabbed his wrist. “The only pleasure I find in telling you this is your own pain, and even that is muted,” she bit out. “Your wife saved my life by sacrificing her own. I owe her a depth of gratitude that will never be repaid.”
She shoved Gale’s hand away from her.
“And yet still, you use her death for your own gain. What is this, retribution for your mother?”
He spat his words like a curse. Aya forced down her rage, her breath sharp as she inhaled through her nose.
“As difficult as it may be for you to imagine, this isn’t about you, Gale. I came here because I need confirmation.”
“Confirmation. Of what?”
You could forget about this, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.You could leave and no one will ever know.
She couldn’t.
“Do you have Lorna’s lineage records?”
Gale frowned. Clearly, whatever he’d been anticipating she’d ask, it was not that.
“My wife had me burn them years ago,” he finally said, his tone careful. “Surely you’d understand why.”
Aya’s weight shifted between her feet. She’d expected this answer, and yet there was something about it that did not sit right within her.
“I already know her secrets,” Aya reminded him. “Her connection to the prophecy, her fake death, all of it. If there are any additional ledgers, any copies you might have kept…I need to know.”
“Why?”
Aya didn’t answer him.
Gale huffed as he dragged a hand through his hair—the first similarity she’d seen between him and his son. She wondered if it was the only one that still existed.
“You understand,” Gale began, “that I have a family toprotect—”
It should have been no surprise that those were the words that snapped the leash Aya had been successfully keeping on her temper.
“Donot,” Aya snarled, “utter his name. You have never deigned to protect him, not once. You have no family, and he is better off for it.”
Aya’s fists clenched so tightly she could feel the strain on her knuckles. Better that than to reach for her knife. She did not think she would be able to stop herself from slitting Gale’s throat.
She let her power uncoil from where it was resting inside of her, let it brush against Gale’s shield, cold and sinister and dark. “I could force you to show me that register, you know,” Aya threatened softly. “I might even find joy in it.”
Gale, to his credit, did not show his fear, but Aya felt it all the same against her affinity.
“I kept a single copy. It is hidden in my office,” Gale finally confessed, his mouth twisted in disgust. His shield shoved against her power, but she did not budge. “Take your wretched magic back and I will get it for you.”
Aya smiled darkly as she let her affinity drop. “I knew you’d be amenable.”
She followed Gale into his office, her eyes wandering the space curiously as he searched for the ledger.
“You cannot take it from here,” Gale informed her as he spread the long, antiquated roll of parchment on his gilded desk.
“That won’t be a problem.” Aya braced her hands on the wood, her pulse fluttering as she scanned the long list of names. There were markings by certain ones, including Lorna’s.
Aya pointed to the symbol. “I take it this indicates the Seer ability?”
“Yes.”
