Chains clinked as Lia was led back into the chamber, wrists raw beneath iron cuffs.
Karl stood behind the table this time. Alone again.
No guards. No scribes. Just him and the girl who refused to be broken.
He gestured to the stool. “Sit."
She did.
He opened a file. “Your antidotes work. Better than ours. That's not village herb lore. That's surgical."
Lia said nothing.
“You've had formal training. Imperial training, perhaps?"
Nothing.
He set the file down. “You healed a child in Vorn. Soldier's report says he lost half his blood. You rebuilt his vein wall with spider silk. No one's taught that in decades."
Her lips barely twitched.
Karl leaned forward. “Who are you?"
Silence.
He slammed a hand on the table. “Are you deaf or just arrogant?"
Stillness.
Then, as if it cost her
