Ronan understood instantly.
Jason Vrell was not a random variable. He was not another strong student caught in Mesmer's indiscriminate invasion.
He was the brother of Marcus Vrell.
The student Ronan had ordered Aura to kill during the Inter-Class War.
Of course Mesmer would use him. It was the cleanest kind of weapon. Grief sharpened into a blade and pointed directly at its source. Even if Jason knew nothing before, Mesmer could have given him pieces. Suspicion. Names. Direction. A purpose for his anger.
That was all it would take.
But the question was not why. The question was how.
How did Mesmer know?
The Academy never solved Marcus's death. It was not public information. Ronan had ensured the kill was clean enough to leave confusion but not proof. Even Grace, with her similar knowledge and sharp instincts, likely did not know. There should have been no direct line connecting Marcus's corpse to Ronan's command.
