Chapter Thirty

Lore, Gabe, and Bastian carry out their plan at the dockside fighting ring: Lore enters a match intending to lose convincingly so the people hiring defeated fighters might approach her about cargo running. Bastian wraps Lore’s knuckles and tries to coach her with humor, while Gabe objects to the danger but gives practical advice. Lore’s opponent, a smaller but clearly experienced red-haired fighter, quickly proves more dangerous than Lore expected.

The fight begins before Lore is ready. Lore takes a punch to the stomach, is knocked to her knees, and then manages one effective move by kicking the other fighter’s kneecap, following Gabe and Bastian’s advice. Before Lore can deliberately lose the match, bloodcoats raid the illegal fight, scattering the crowd and forcing Lore, Gabe, and Bastian to flee into an alley.

In the alley, Bastian wants to return to the Citadel and try again later, but Gabe refuses, calling the plan foolish. Lore argues that the raid proves they are on the right track and that someone may have known they were coming. Gabe’s protectiveness frustrates Lore, and she nearly tells him more about her past before Milo, the bruiser from the group’s earlier visit to the ring, attacks from the shadows.

Milo is heavily poisoned, his veins already turning to gray stone, and he is strong enough to daze Gabe and wound Bastian with a knife. When Milo advances again, Lore orders Bastian to move away, then calls Mortem more easily and powerfully than ever before. Lore uses it deliberately to encase Milo in a death-woven stasis, turning him into stone with his knife stopped inches from Lore’s throat.

Gabe is shaken and horrified by what Lore has done, while Bastian defends her choice. Bastian’s own wound also appears to vanish, leaving only dried blood and unbroken skin, which unsettles Lore. Because they cannot leave Milo in the alley and do not know whether Lore can reverse the transformation, the three load Milo into a cart and cover him with trash.

Lore leads Gabe and Bastian through the harbor toward the old poison-runner warehouse where Val’s crew once operated. Lore had wanted to keep Val and Mari away from the danger, but Milo’s condition leaves her no other option. At the warehouse door, Lore uses the old knock, and Mari opens it in shock, recognizing Lore immediately.