"The guard who sabotaged the blade," I said. "He is still in containment."
"Yes," Ronan confirmed. "He has said very little since his capture."
"He will talk to me," I said.
Elara moved to follow, but I stopped her with a look. "Rest. Let the healer finish what she started. I need to know you are steady before the hearing, not running yourself further into the ground chasing every lead at once."
"I am not fragile," she said.
"I know," I said. "That is not why I am asking."
She studied me for a long moment, then nodded, though reluctance colored her expression clearly.
I found the guard exactly where Ronan left him days earlier, seated in a small holding cell beneath the packhouse, his posture defeated rather than defiant.
"You already told us Bren promised your family protection,"
