Kiera's POV
I flip through the folder with shaking hands.
More photographs. Finn at protests I remember. Finn talking to people I don't recognize. Finn in places he never told me about.
And notes. Dozens of them. Someone was watching my brother for months before they killed him.
Subject met with Dr. Vane again. Discussing Skyheart core compositions.
Subject asked about banned Skyweaver texts. Dangerous knowledge.
Subject must be eliminated before he shares findings.
The last page makes my blood freeze.
It's a Council execution order. Finn's name at the top. But the signature at the bottom isn't Lord Silvercrest's.
It's someone else's. The ink is smudged, unreadable.
Someone on the Council wanted Finn dead. Someone covered it up. Someone burned a face out of that photograph because they couldn't risk being identified.
The door opens. I slam the folder shut.
Davian enters carrying a tray with water and more food. He sets it down carefully, like I might bite him.
"Thirty minutes left," he says.
"Who gave the order?" My voice comes out rough. "Who really killed Finn?"
"I don't know yet. The signature's been obscured on every document I've found. Digital records were wiped." He sits across from me. "But someone with high-level access did this. Someone who knew how to hide their tracks."
"Your father."
"Maybe. Probably." His jaw tightens. "But I need proof before I can accuse the Lord Chancellor of murder."
I laugh bitterly. "And you expect me to live in his house? Smile at his dinner parties? Pretend everything's fine while he walks free?"
"I expect you to survive." Davian's voice stays level but something fierce burns in his eyes. "I expect you to use this opportunity to find the truth. You'll have access to places prisoners never see. Information prisoners never touch. If you want justice for Finn, this is your only chance."
He's right. I hate that he's right.
"What about Sera?"
"If you agree, I'll take you to her cell before you sign. Five minutes. That's all the guards will allow."
Five minutes to say goodbye to my best friend. Five minutes to explain why I'm marrying the enemy.
Five minutes that might be our last if I'm making the wrong choice.
I stand, pacing the small room. My wings ache from being folded so long. Two years without flying. Two years of stone walls and iron bars and guards who'd break your wings just for looking at them wrong.
But if I sign this contract, I'm trading one prison for another.
"What happens after?" I ask. "After the ritual, after we save the city—assuming we actually can. Do I go back to prison?"
"Full pardon. Written into the contract. You'll be free to go wherever you want."
"And you get what? A fake wife who hates you?"
Davian's quiet for a moment. Then: "I get a chance to fix what my research destroyed. Even if you hate me forever, that's worth it."
I turn to face him. Really look at him. He's still perfectly composed, but there's something exhausted in the way he holds himself. Like he's been carrying weight too heavy for one person.
"Did you know?" I ask. "When they used your research to justify killing Windborn. Did you know what they'd do with it?"
"No." The word comes fast. Definite. "I was studying atmospheric stability. Trying to understand why Skyhearts were failing. My research proved the failures weren't caused by Windborn biology. But someone changed my conclusions. Made it look like I blamed your people."
"Convenient story."
"It's the truth." He meets my eyes. "You don't have to believe me. But work with me long enough, and I'll prove it."
The building shakes again. Smaller this time, but enough to rattle the windows. Another Skyheart weakening.
Three months until the city falls.
Ninety days to save everyone or watch them all die screaming.
No pressure.
"I want to see Sera now," I say. "Before I decide anything."
Davian nods and stands. "Follow me."
The guards escort us down. Back through corridors I know, past cells filled with hollow-eyed Windborn prisoners. Some recognize me. A few whisper my name like a prayer.
They think I'm being led to execution.
They don't know I'm choosing a different kind of death.
We stop at a cell in the east wing. Marcus unlocks it while another guard stays close, hand on his shock-stick.
"Five minutes," Marcus says quietly. "I'm sorry. That's all I can give you."
The door opens.
Sera looks up from her cot, and her whole face transforms. "Kiera?"
I'm across the cell in two steps, pulling her into a hug. She gasps—her broken wing must hurt—but she hugs back just as hard.
"You're alive," she whispers. "They wouldn't tell me anything. I thought—"
"I'm okay. I'm here." I pull back to look at her. The bruises are worse up close. Her left eye's swollen nearly shut. "What did they do to you?"
"Nothing I couldn't handle." She tries to smile but winces. "What's happening? Why are you out of your cell?"
I glance at Davian waiting in the doorway, then back to Sera. "They're giving me a choice. Marry Davian Silvercrest and help save the city, or they'll execute you at dawn."
Sera's eyes go wide. "What? No. Kiera, don't—"
"I'm going to accept."
"Are you insane?" She grabs my shoulders. "That's the man whose research killed Finn!"
"I know. But there's more to it." I lower my voice. "Someone altered his research. Someone wanted Finn dead and Windborn blamed. If I do this, I can find out who. I can get justice."
"Or you could get yourself killed."
"Better than watching you die."
Sera's eyes fill with tears. "You can't save everyone, Kiera. You tried that with Finn and—"
"And I failed. I know." My voice breaks. "I watched them kill him and couldn't do anything. I won't fail you too."
"Two minutes," Marcus calls from the door.
Sera wipes her eyes roughly. "Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Don't lose yourself trying to fix this. Don't become like them." She squeezes my hands. "And when you find whoever killed Finn, make them pay. Burn their whole corrupt system down."
I smile through my own tears. "That's the plan."
"Good." She pulls me close again. "I love you, you reckless idiot."
"Love you too."
Marcus clears his throat. "Time's up."
I force myself to let go. To step back. To walk toward the door where Davian waits.
Sera calls after me: "Kiera? Whatever happens next—you're the bravest person I know. Don't forget that."
The door closes between us.
I stand in the hallway, hands curled into fists, and make my choice.
"I'll sign your contract," I tell Davian. "But I have conditions."
"Name them."
"I want full access to your research. Everything about the Skyhearts, everything about what's really causing the failures. No secrets."
"Agreed."
"I want Sera released today. Not after the ritual, not after we save the city. Today."
Davian hesitates. "My father won't—"
"Then we don't have a deal."
He studies me for a long moment. Then nods. "I'll make it happen."
"And one more thing." I step closer. "The second I find proof of who killed Finn, I'm going to destroy them. I don't care if it's your father, another Council member, or you. Nothing will stop me. Understood?"
"Understood." He extends his hand. "Do we have an agreement?"
I look at his hand. Smooth, uncalloused. The hand of someone who's never done real work. Never fought for survival. Never watched someone they love die.
But maybe—just maybe—the hand of someone who actually wants the truth.
I shake it. His grip is firm. Steady.
"Let's go sign that contract," I say.
We walk back upstairs. Lord Silvercrest waits in the same room, checking his pocket watch like we're wasting his precious time.
"Well?" he asks.
"She's agreed," Davian says. "With conditions. Sera Nightwind gets released today."
Lord Silvercrest's eyebrows rise. "Interesting. The contract specified—"
"Change it. Or the deal's off."
For a second, father and son stare at each other. Some silent battle of wills I don't understand.
Then Lord Silvercrest smiles. "Very well. I'll have the girl released within the hour." He slides the contract across the desk toward me. "Sign at the bottom, Miss Ashwind. Welcome to the family."
I pick up the pen. My hand hovers over the signature line.
This is it. The moment I trade my freedom for Sera's life. The moment I enter the viper's nest with the king viper himself.
The moment I stop being just a prisoner and become something more dangerous.
I sign my name.
Lord Silvercrest countersigns. Then Davian. Marcus witnesses.
It's done.
"Excellent." Lord Silvercrest stands. "You'll move to the Silvercrest estate tonight. Davian will escort you. We'll announce the engagement tomorrow at the Council session." He heads for the door, then pauses. "Oh, and Miss Ashwind? One last thing."
"What?"
His smile turns razor-sharp.
"Your brother's execution? The Council has footage from a different angle than what was publicly released. Very revealing footage." He pulls out a tablet and taps the screen. "You might want to see who was standing in the crowd that day. Who watched him die without lifting a finger."
He turns the screen toward me.
The video shows Finn's execution from above. The crowd of witnesses. The moment the void-blast hits him.
And standing in the front row, face perfectly visible, watching it all happen—
Is my mother.
The mother who died five years ago.
The mother I buried myself.
Very much alive.