The memorial stone did not echo.
Everything else in Gate Eleven repeated itself eventually—the bell, the dripping water, Liora's breath when she forced it steady, the scrape of Aiden's boot against bone-white dust, even the little nervous click Ren made with his teeth when he was trying not to hum.
The stone stayed silent.
That made it the most dangerous thing in the corridor.
SERAPHINE VALDRAKE ARKHEN
NOT AN ACCIDENT
Under the name, a second line bled into view.
ASK YOUR FATHER.
A sensible person would have stepped back.
Cedric Valdrake's body took one step forward.
My left hand caught my right wrist before the fingers touched the engraving. They had already stopped trembling. That was not improvement. Numbness was simply fear that had decided to become useful.
"Cedric," Seraphina said softly.
Her voice did not echo either.
