Page 254 of Reaper Said Mine

He bares his teeth faintly. “Good. If she dies, I will know whom to blame.”

Halden, without missing a breath, says, “Lord Gnash, if she dies, I suspect blame distribution will be robust and multilateral.”

Bellamy looks at her. “Okay, that was kind of badass.”

Gnash’s expression flickers with something almost like appreciation before returning to me. “Send check-ins.”

“I will.”

“If anything feels wrong, turn back.”

“That depends on what kind of wrong.”

“Ursa.”

“Fine. If anything feels wrong in a way that is not normal for me, I will reassess.”

“That is not the same as agreeing.”

“It’s the closest you’re getting.”

He exhales slowly. Behind him, someone calls his name. He answers in Reaper, sharp and quick, then looks back at me as if the act of looking might hold me in place.

“I am still angry,” I say before he can speak.

His eyes hold mine. “I know.”

“I am still coming.”

“I know that too.”

“Good.”

His voice drops. “Come back to me alive, and you may yell as long as you like.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I expect nothing less.”

The projection cuts as I step into the security line.

The first checkpoint goes smoothly because Halden’s seals are expensive magic disguised as bureaucracy. The second nearly fails when an Alliance Transit officer with a square jaw and suspicious eyes asks why a suspended IHC-Now journalist is traveling under medical courier priority. I hand him the black packet and say nothing. He reads the first page, then the second. His face goes pale in the careful way of men who have just discovered that whatever they were about to do will require more courage than they brought to work.

He returns the packet.

“Safe travels, Ms. Ramone.”

“Thank you.”

His eyes flick to the cameras. “For what it’s worth, my sister’s on Bravax.”

The words stop me.

“How is she?”

“Alive because somebody argued against bombardment near the domes.” His throat works. “So if you’re going back to the man who gave that order, tell him some of us noticed.”

I nod because anything more might undo me.