Corin Vael didn’t answer right away.
He stood on the steps of the well, firelight catching on the silver sigil of House Vael at his throat. Behind him, his soldiers held their lines. In front of him, the square was full of people who’d stopped running long enough to listen.
Aria didn’t move. Neither did Darian or Kieran. The only sound was the crackle of burning wood and the distant shouts of people trying to save what was left of their homes.
“You want me to admit it,” Corin said finally. His voice was calm, measured. Too calm for a man standing in the middle of a city he’d set on fire. “That the Debt was a lie. That my house has been built on it for five hundred years.”
“I want you to stop killing people to hide it,” Aria said.
Corin’s eyes flicked to Darian, to the bond mark f
