The blood won’t come out of the stones.
Not for scrubbing. Not for torch-fire to drown it. Kade’s death is in the keep. Deep in the walls, pungent in the mortar—sharp iron and betrayal congealed like a second skin to every living thing in Black Veil.
But it’s not the blood the pack fears now.
It’s Rael.
He hasn’t spoken since Vera killed Kade.
Not during the cleanup.
Not during the burial rites that Rael refused to attend.
Not when Vera had met his eyes and said, “He was going to kill me. And you weren’t there.”
Rael hadn’t blinked.
Had just turned and walked out.
As if something inside of him had finally cracked.
And the worst part?
Vera knows what broke.
It wasn’t love.
Trust wasn’t it.
Control was.
The courtyard is full when it happens.
Training hour. Midday.
Young wol
