I pull back just enough to look at her. The fear returns, sharp enough to make me reach for control. “Until we know who’s watching, neither of us moves alone. Kitchen, garden, hallway—we use pairs and code words. The mole knows we’re digging. They know you’re the one with the keys to the ledger. You’re the biggest threat they’ve ever faced."
"I can take care of myself."
"I don't care. I’m not losing you. I’ve spent my whole life losing people. I’m done. The universe doesn't get another one." I lean down, pressing my forehead against hers. “You matter in a way I don’t know how to survive. But if I don’t end this war, none of us survive. Do you understand?”
"Alessio—"
"Say it. Say you understand."
"I understand," she whispers.
I kiss her then, a hard, desperate claim that tastes like salt and fire. She is the only person who knows the truth of who I am, and she hasn't run away. She’s seen the list and the ghosts and the blood, and she’s still here.
We stand in the blue glow of the vault. The beast in the walls continues to growl, but I’m not listening to the servers. I’m listening to her heart beating against mine.
“The list,” she says after a moment, pulling back. “You said there were five on paper. But you’re acting like there’s another.”
I look back at the desk. The paper is still there, the black line through Turi’s name looking like a scar.
“The sixth name wasn't on the paper,” I say, my voice dropping. “The sixth name was mine.”
She freezes. "What?"
"I’m the one who goes everywhere. I have the most to gain if my brothers fall. I have the secret room and the encrypted files. If I were looking at this from the outside, I’d be the prime suspect. I’ve spent eleven years checking my own logs first, because a vault has to prove it hasn't been opened.”
I look at my hands, the scarred, steady hands that have saved lives. "I’ve checked my own logs. I’ve tracked my own movements. I’ve put myself through the same hell I put the others through. It’s a special kind of madness, looking in the mirror and wondering if you’re the villain."
She reaches out and takes my hands, squeezing them hard. Her eyes burn. "You’re not the villain, Alessio. You’re the one who stayed. You’re the one who kept the secrets so they wouldn't have to. A traitor doesn't hunt himself for a decade."
“I would do anything for them,” I say. “And now I have to protect you without betraying them.”
I pull her back into my arms. The paranoia is still there, lurking, but it’s quieter.
“We start now,” I say. “We mirror the terminal, watch the library, and wait for him to touch the line again. And when the rat comes out, we finish this.”
"And if it’s him?"
I close my eyes. I see Turi’s kind face. I see him looking at my mother’s portrait.
“If it’s him,” I say, my voice turning to ice, “I’ll be the one to bring him to Dominic. Because nobody hurts my family. And nobody puts a target on you.”
She trembles against my chest, but her grip on my shirt tightens. We are bound by the rot inside these walls.
I lead her out of the vault, locking the heavy steel door. The hallway is silent, every sound too loud because now I’m listening for betrayal.
As I walk her back to my room, I keep close enough to feel her beside me
"Get some sleep," I tell her at the bed. I pull the covers back. I keep my boots on, the weapon holstered and within reach, and take the chair facing the door.
Tonight, the vault does not sleep.
Amara watches me before she finally settles into the pillows. She doesn't ask me to come to bed. She knows I can't. She knows I sleep with one eye open and a blade in my hand.
The moon hangs low over the city. Somewhere out there, Alvarado Vane is waiting. Somewhere in this house, a traitor is sleeping.
And right here, in this room, is the only thing worth saving.
I watch the rise and fall of her chest. I’ll keep her safe. I’ll cut out every lie in this house if I have to.
