No one spoke on the way back. The city slid behind the windows like badly washed evidence. Headlights stretched across the road. The rain had slowed, but it was still there, thin, persistent, clinging to the windshield as if the road refused to dry after what it had just shown them. Selene kept the memory card in her hand. Too tightly. The plastic marked her palm. She could have put it into an envelope, handed it to Eden, entrusted it to Livia, placed it inside a secured case like everything else. She did not. The video of her mother was not only evidence. Not yet. It was warm with memory, filthy with truth, impossible to put down without feeling as if she were abandoning Claire on the road a second time. Eden, seated beside her, did not try to take it. Good choice. He looked straight ahead, but she could feel his attention on her. Not his gaze. His attention. That dense, dangerous thing that filled space even when he did not move.
— You are thinking about killing her, Selene said. It was not a question. Eden did not answer immediately.
— Yes.
— Your mother.
— Yes.
— And you think I am going to stop you.
— I hope so. The sentence made Selene turn her head toward him. He still was not looking at her.
— You hope I stop you?
— Part of me does.
— And the other part? Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11— The other has already chosen where she will bleed.
Selene felt cold climb into her throat. There he was. Eden without polish. Not the man who asked permission to touch her wrist. Not the one who stopped at the first word. Not the one who turned his violence into rules so he would not become exactly what he hated. The other one. The one Althea had raised. The one who knew how to choose a place for blood before choosing a sentence.
— If you kill her, Selene said, she wins. He gave a short laugh. Joyless.
— The dead do not win.
— Of course they do. It is practically their specialty in your families. This time, he looked at her.
— She is wearing your mother's locket.
— I know.
— Like a trophy.
— I know.
— She put her foot on Claire's hand while she was dying. The sentence went too deep. Selene closed her eyes for one second. She saw the video again. The white heel. Her mother's hand. The rain. Lily. She opened her eyes.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Exactly. I want her to say it. Eden turned slightly toward her.
— She will not say it.
— She will if silence costs her more.
— You sound like her. The sentence cracked. Selene did not move. Eden understood immediately that he had crossed a line.
— Selene... Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11— No. Her voice was calm. Far too calm.
— Say it all the way. I sound like your mother? He looked away.
— I should not have said that.
— But you thought it.
— Yes. She tightened her grip on the memory card.
— Then listen carefully: I do not want to make her speak so I can crush her. I want her to speak because she built her power on the fact that everyone around her stayed silent. Your father. Mine. Valere. The judges. The police. The doctors. Even you, sometimes. He did not answer. She leaned toward him.
— My mother died in noise. But silence is what killed her for fifteen years afterward. Eden's face changed. Not much. Enough.
— Then we make her speak, he said. Not: I. We. Selene noted the difference. She forgave him nothing. But she noted it.
Ashfall welcomed them as if nothing had burned beneath the skin of the world. The hall was nearly empty, but not asleep. Staff were cleaning away the last traces of the Roses evening. Servers removed half-melted candles. The scent stayed in the air, heavy, floral, a little rancid now that the party was over. Roses after the crowd. Obsession turned cold ash. Selene entered without slowing down. The proof pressed against her: in her hand, in her phone, inside her skull. Maelys was waiting near the bar with Livia. She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt someone had given her, wet boots, and was still holding her butter knife. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11— I asked for a weapon, she said. They offered me tea. I kept the knife. Selene almost smiled.
— Are you okay?
— No. But I am starting to develop a chic survivor aesthetic. Livia, her eyes still red from the gas, set a tablet on the bar.
— Althea is still in the upper gallery. She has not left Ashfall since you departed. Valere has been untraceable since the incident at Maelys's apartment. Dante Orsini sent a message: he would like to "offer his condolences for the evening's sentimental complications."
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Charming, Maelys said. Can we send him a disease? Eden ignored that.
— The locket? Livia slid over an enlarged photograph. Althea in profile, glass in hand. The locket gleamed at her throat. Small. Oval. Almost discreet. Selene stared at the image. She could not call it jewelry. Not after seeing her mother's hand beneath Althea's heel.
— She is wearing it deliberately, Livia said.
— She knows we know, Eden answered.
— Then why stay here? Maelys asked. Selene looked up.
— Because she wants a scene. Eden looked at her.
— You said it yourself.
— She wants you to confront her.
— Yes.
— So we do not do it the way she wants. Selene placed the memory card on the bar.
— We give her an audience. Maelys blinked.
— Sorry, you want to organize a TED Talk for trauma?
— Almost. Selene looked toward the main room. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11The staff were still removing traces of the ball.
— She built her legend on control. On elegance. On distance. We do not confront her in a private room. We make her come down in front of the people who think she is untouchable. Livia studied Selene closely.
— A social tribunal.
— No, Eden said. Everyone turned toward him. He was looking at the photograph of Althea.
— Not social. Ritual. Selene understood that he had accepted. But in his own way. A dangerous one.
— Explain, she said. Eden lifted his head.
— The Veyrs have a tradition. The blood debt. Old. Ridiculous. Very effective on people who love symbols. Maelys raised a hand.
— I already vote no.
— One person accuses another of spilling family blood. The accused can pay, deny, or answer. It was used to settle internal conflicts without attracting the police.
— So a mafia tribunal, Selene summarized.
— Yes.
— And if we accuse your mother?
— She will have to come down.
— Why? Eden's face was cold.
— Because she would rather die than let anyone think she is afraid to answer a debt. Selene looked again at the locket.
— Then we accuse her. Livia did not smile, but her eyes changed.
— You understand that if you open a blood debt against Althea Veyr, this house may split in two before the night is over. Selene took the photograph.
— It already has.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `They prepared the stage in forty minutes. Not because it was prudent. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Because giving Althea time to choose her own scenery would have been worse. The main room was emptied of unnecessary tables. The Roses candles remained, but Selene demanded that half of them be extinguished. The air needed to breathe. She did not want the perfume to drown the truth the way Lily had drowned death. At the center, a long table. Black. No tablecloth. On the table: the memory card, the empty Berries vial, the badge, the scented notebook, a copy of the Tuberose register, the photograph of Claire and Irina, and a Lily candle. Unlit. Always unlit.
— That one stays that way, Selene said. Eden nodded. He did not try to correct her. Noe was brought in under guard. His face was paler than before, but his eyes seemed clearer. Maybe fear had finally emptied him of his last excuses.
— What is this? he asked, seeing the room.
— A very bad idea pretending to be a solution, Maelys replied. Noe looked at Selene.
— You want to confront Althea here?
— Yes.
— She is going to destroy us.
— She will try.
— Selene...
— No. She moved closer to him.
— You carry part of the counter-code. So do I. Dad used us, but that does not mean we have to stay locks. You will be here. You will listen. And if anything she says wakes up a memory, a sentence, a smell, you speak. Noe swallowed.
— And if I am wrong?
— Then for once, you will be wrong while telling the truth. He nodded. Small. But real. Eden watched from the end of the table. Not master of the house. Not entirely. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11More like the son of a house that was about to bite its mother in public. Selene joined him.
— Are you ready?
— No.
— Good answer.
— And you? She looked at the Lily candle.
— Not either. A silence. Then Eden said:
— If I lose control...
— I will say Lily. He briefly closed his eyes.
— And if I do not hear it? The question was naked. Terrible. He was not asking for a romantic promise. He was asking to be stopped from becoming what his mother had planned. Selene placed her hand on the edge of the table. Not on him.
— Then I will take you down in front of everyone. He looked at her. The shadow of a smile crossed his mouth.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— You could.
— I know.
— That is why I believe you.
For one second, the room, the proof, the debt, and the dead receded. All that remained was that strange, shaky trust between them: not pure, not soft, not safe, but built with enough truth to hold under rain. Then Livia came in.
— She is coming down.
Althea Veyr descended the stairs as if she were going to the opera. White coat. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Black dress. Hair pulled back. Dark mouth. And at her throat, Claire Moreau's locket. Selene saw it immediately. The small silver oval caught the chandelier light with obscene discretion. It had rested against her mother's skin. It now rested against her murderer's. Althea did not look at Selene first. She looked at Eden. Always. As if everything else were scenery built for their old war.
— You open the room for me at three in the morning, she said. I hope this is not another tantrum disguised as strategy. Eden did not answer. Selene did.
— Blood debt. The murmurs exploded at once.
There were more people than she had expected. Or perhaps exactly as many as Eden had planned. Veyr members. A few guests who had stayed after the evening. Masked men. Silent women. Old employees. People who had seen too much and spoken too little. Althea slowly turned her head toward Selene. Her gaze dropped to the table. The evidence. The Lily candle. Then rose again.
— Little Moreau, she said softly. You do not know our traditions.
— No. But I learn quickly.
— That is rarely a quality in children raised by liars. Selene felt Noe move behind her. She did not turn around.
— I accuse you of spilling Claire Moreau's blood, she said. And of erasing her death under the Lily protocol. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11The room froze. Althea gave an almost tender smile.
— Your mother died in an accident. Selene pressed the remote. The central screen lit up. Not the whole video. Not yet. Only one image. Claire's car on the wet road. Then another. Althea in the rain. Then a third. Her heel on Claire's hand.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `This time, the room did not murmur. It forgot how to breathe. Althea did not look at the screen. Not right away. She looked at Selene.
— You watched the dead with living eyes. Reckless.
— You are wearing my mother's locket. Althea placed two fingers on the jewel. Finally. A gesture. A reaction. Small. Precious.
— Many things change necks after a war. Eden took one step. Selene said, without looking at him:
— Lily. He stopped. The whole room heard it. The whole room saw Eden Veyr stop at a word given by Selene Moreau. Althea saw it too. And for the first time, anger truly passed through her eyes. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11[Page 5]
— You taught him a safe word, Althea said. Her voice was soft. Mocking. Dangerous.
— How modern. Selene felt heat rise in her face, but she did not lower her eyes.
— Mostly, I learned that your son can stop. That must disappoint you. A shiver crossed the room. Eden did not move. Althea stepped off the last stair.
— Eden knows how to stop when he wants to be looked at as a better man. He bites afterward. When he is hungry. When he is afraid. When the thing he loves tries to breathe without him. Every word struck true. Not only Eden. Selene too. The scented notebook had been right: push Eden toward jealousy or guilt. Althea was using something else. Shame. Selene shifted slightly in front of him. Not to protect him. To break the line.
— You speak a lot about him to avoid my mother.
— Your mother had limited use. The world turned red at the edges. Selene felt Eden tense behind her, but this time it was her own violence she had to hold. Claire on the road. Claire in the rain. Claire saying: do not touch my daughter. Althea was smiling. She wanted this. She wanted Selene to become brutal before witnesses, for her anger to replace the proof, for emotion to dirty the accusation. Selene inhaled. Roses in the room. Lily on the table. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11The road inside her skull. She spoke slowly.
— You kept her locket. Althea tilted her head.
— Yes. A murmur. Selene felt her heart strike.
— Why? Althea smiled.
— Because she gave it to me. Lie. The word crossed Selene before thought did. Behind her, Noe murmured:
— No. Everyone turned toward him. He went pale, but did not step back.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Mom never took off that locket. Dad said... Dad said it was the one thing she kept when she had to run. She would not have given it away. Althea set her gaze on him.
— The thieving brother finally speaks. How touching. Noe lowered his eyes. Selene thought he would go silent. He did not.
— You took it from her. Althea looked at him with almost perfect coldness.
— The Moreau children inherited a remarkable imagination. Selene pressed the remote again. The video resumed. A few seconds. Althea in the rain. Her hand bending toward Claire's throat. A silver flash removed into the night.
The image froze. The locket in Althea's hand. The room could no longer pretend. Selene looked at Althea. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11— Blood debt, she repeated. Pay, deny, or answer. Althea's face remained calm. But her hand closed around the locket.
— Very well, she said. She unclasped the jewel.
Everyone held their breath. But she did not give it to Selene. She placed it into an empty glass on a nearby table. Then lifted the glass.
— I pay. And she let it drop. The locket fell into the glass. A clear liquid was poured over it by a man behind her. Acid. Selene understood too late. Eden lunged. Too late as well. The metal began to smoke.
— No! Selene's cry tore through the room. Eden grabbed the glass, but the reaction had already begun. Livia pushed everyone back, shouting for a neutralizer. One of Althea's men vanished into the crowd before a guard could seize him. The locket smoked. The Lily fragment. The last piece. The proof worn by the monster. Disappearing before their eyes. Selene felt something violent rise inside her, pure, burning, wordless. She moved toward Althea. This time, Eden could not hold her back. Because he was busy saving the locket. Because she had not asked him. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Because the whole room was too slow. Selene grabbed Althea by the collar of her white coat. A breath ran through the room. The matriarch did not step back.
— You just destroyed the proof, Selene said.
— No. Althea smiled.
— I just taught you what your mother never managed to understand: proof that can be taken is not power. It is weakness. Selene tightened her grip.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— Why did you keep it?
— Because Claire watched me die for less time than I would have liked. The sentence was so monstrous that at first it seemed not to make sense. Then it made too much.
— She deprived me of a confession, Althea continued. She preferred to spit blood and provoke me. So I kept what she wore. To remember she still had something to lose when she died. Eden came up behind Selene.
— Step back. It was not an order. It was an alarm. The room around them trembled with tension. The Veyr men were waiting to know whom to support. Althea's men were already sliding their hands toward their jackets. The guests wanted to flee but did not dare move too quickly. Selene did not let go.
— Say it, she breathed. Althea looked at her.
— Say what?
— That you killed my mother. Althea's smile became almost tender.
— I had a leak corrected. The sentence was enough. Not legally. Not completely. But in the room, it was enough. A shudder of filthy truth went through the assembly. Eden closed his eyes for one second. Noe cursed under his breath. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Maelys brought a hand to her mouth. Selene released the white coat. Not because she was calm. Because she had just obtained what she wanted. A crack in the silence. The glass kept smoking behind her. Livia shouted:
— I have the fragment! Everyone turned. The locket was damaged, blackened around the edges, but not destroyed. Inside its shell, protected by an inner layer, a micro-plate had appeared. Lily. Althea was no longer smiling.
The Lily micro-plate was tiny. Barely larger than a fingernail. Engraved with a white flower and a series of almost invisible points. Livia placed it on a black cloth.
— It is readable, she said. Selene felt her legs weaken, but she remained standing. Althea had destroyed the casing. Not the heart. Claire had won something else from her grave. Eden stared at his mother.
— You knew the acid would not destroy the plate. Althea became calm again too quickly.
— I knew it would destroy your patience. There it was. The true trap. Not the locket. Eden. Make him lunge before everyone, push him back into the man she could control, the violent son, the living proof that nothing could change in this house. Selene looked at Eden. He was at the edge. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Everything in him said it: his shoulders, his jaw, his breathing, his hand too close to his weapon. Althea saw it too. She spoke softly.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— You are trembling, my son. Selene placed herself between them.
— Look at me. Eden did not move.
— Eden. Nothing. The room hung from his violence. Althea smiled.
— There. He no longer hears. Selene did the only thing that came to her. She slapped him.
The room froze. Eden's head turned with the impact. Then slowly, he came back to her. His eyes were black. But there. Truly there.
— Can you hear me now? Selene asked. A silence. Then he exhaled.
— Yes.
— Good. She lifted her chin.
— If you kill her, she becomes the last thing you will ever have obeyed from her. The sentence cut through the room like a blade. Eden looked at Althea. Then Selene. His hand moved away from his weapon. Althea was no longer smiling at all. It was a victory. Small. Dangerous. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11But a victory. Noe moved closer to the table.
— The plate, he said. Everyone turned to him. His eyes were fixed on the engraved points.
— It is not a number code. Selene joined him.
— You recognize it? Noe nodded slowly.
— Dad used to make me tap that on the table when I was little. Like a game. He placed two fingers on the wood. Tap. Tap tap. Pause. Tap. Selene felt her heart accelerate. The song. Again. But differently. Noe whispered:
— It is not the end. It is an address.
— Where? Eden asked. Noe lifted his eyes.
— The port. A silence. Then a phone vibrated. Noe's. Impossible. He should not have had it. He slowly drew it from his pocket, ashen. A message. Thank you for validating Lily. Now come pay your debt at the port, little Moreau. Alone. Or we start with your sister. - D. Dante.
Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Everything tore open at once. Eden almost ripped the phone from Noe's hands. Livia gave orders. Two guards blocked the exits. Althea began to smile again, softly, as if the house had just returned a pleasant note to her.
— Orsini, she said. Always vulgar, but punctual. Selene turned to her.
— You knew.
— I know many things.
— You gave them Noe's number.
— Your brother gives his weaknesses to anyone who knows how to promise him a way out. Noe went white.
— No. Eden looked at the phone.
— There is a secondary chip. Livia moved closer.
— Implanted when? Eden fixed his gaze on Noe.
— When he was with Orsini. Noe shook his head.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `— I didn't know.
— That is the point, Maelys said coldly. Selene felt moral exhaustion return. But this time, she did not have the luxury of feeling it. The Lily plate had given the port. Dante wanted Noe. Althea had obtained what she wanted: moving the war away from the room, outside the frame where she had just lost a little of her authority.
— He is not going alone, Selene said. Eden answered immediately:
— He is not going at all.
— Wrong answer.
— Selene.
— They have the address of the last access. They think Noe is the debt. They will move with or without him.
— Then we move before them.
— Together. Eden stared at her.
— No. She stepped closer. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11— Did you hear what your mother said? She wants you to bite what you love. She wants you to decide for me. She wants me to become either your weakness or your excuse. So listen carefully: I am coming.
— The port is not Ashfall.
— My shop was not Ashfall. Maelys's apartment was not Ashfall either. My mother's road was not Ashfall. And still, your world entered all of them. Eden did not answer. Because she was right. Noe murmured:
— I am the one they want. Selene turned to him.
— No. They want what you carry. What Dad left you. What you represent. You, they do not care about. The sentence hurt him. It had to.
— So for once, she continued, you are going to stop trying to be useful by sacrificing yourself at the wrong moment. Maelys raised her butter knife.
— I am coming too.
— No, said Selene, Eden, and Livia at the same time. Maelys blinked.
— Wow. Collective trauma agreement. I am almost moved. Livia placed a hand on her shoulder.
— You are coming with me to the black office. You will help track communications and insult men through an earpiece if that helps you stay seated. Maelys thought about it.
— Acceptable deal. Althea watched the scene with cold attention. Selene turned back to her.
— You do not leave this room. Althea gave a little laugh.
— Are you giving me an order? Eden spoke before Selene.
— I am. He signaled to the guards. For the first time, the Veyr men hesitated. Then two of them placed themselves before the stairs. Not all. But enough. Althea saw the fracture. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11So did Selene. The blood debt had just divided the house.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `They left the room in less than five minutes. Not fleeing. At war. Eden found his mask in the corridor and put it back on in front of Selene. The gesture should have irritated her. Instead, it tightened somewhere beneath her ribs. Masked, Eden became the man from the first night again. But now she knew what lay underneath. That might have been worse. He handed her an earpiece.
— Active. You can cut it off. You can say Lily. You can tell me to shut up.
— Can I tell myself to shut up?
— I am working on that. She took the earpiece.
— Very generous. Farther away, Noe was putting on a bulletproof vest with the look of a man discovering that being protected can also be humiliating. Selene joined him.
— Tell me everything you remember about the port.
— Dad took me there once.
— When?
— I must have been ten. He said we were going to look at the boats. But he made me stay in front of a warehouse. He told me to count the red doors.
— How many? Noe frowned.
— Five. Selene felt the system answer. Five doors. Five scents.
— And then?
— He told me: "If your sister looks for Lily, do not let her take the first white door." Eden turned his head.
— Why did you not say that before? Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Noe went pale.
— Because I just remembered it. Selene lifted a hand before Eden could speak.
— He is telling the truth.
— How do you know?
— Because he looks too terrified to embellish. Noe gave a nervous laugh.
— Thanks, I think. Livia appeared with the Lily micro-plate placed in a small black case.
— Take this. It only gives a sequence of points, but if the port has an old reader, it will serve. Selene took the case.
— And Althea?
— Guarded in the room. Furious. Therefore alive. Maelys appeared behind her.
— And I am officially insult operator. If you need to demoralize someone, I am on channel three. Selene hugged her quickly.
— Stay here.
— Come back, you. Not "be careful." Not "watch yourself." Come back. That was better.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `Eden went ahead. Selene followed. Not behind. To the left.
Ashfall's underground parking smelled of concrete, cold gasoline, and the end of easy decisions. Three cars were waiting. Black. Of course. Eden gave the last orders with a precision that might have looked like calm if Selene had not seen him in front of Althea a few minutes earlier. He was calm like a loaded weapon placed carefully on a table. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11She moved closer to him before getting in.
— Eden. He turned.
— Yes.
— If Dante tries to push you toward jealousy...
— I know.
— That is not what I asked you. His gaze locked onto hers.
— I will not let him decide my reaction.
— And if Noe makes a mistake? Farther away, Noe heard and lowered his eyes. Eden followed the movement. Then answered:
— I will not break him to go faster. Selene nodded.
— Good.
— And you?
— Me?
— If Althea is right. If I start attaching myself like a prison. Selene felt the question slide toward a space more intimate than the parking garage, the weapons, and the port.
— I will tell you.
— And if I do not listen? She moved closer still. Not enough to kiss him. Enough for the wanting to exist.
— I will make you fall in front of everyone. The mask hid part of his face. Not his mouth. She saw the brief movement, almost a smile.
— I always believe you. The intimate tension returned, misplaced, impossible, alive. The kind of tension born precisely because everything around it threatens to die. Selene knew it. She did not follow it. Not there. Not now. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11She only placed two fingers against his chest. Signal. Not an invitation. A reminder.
— Come back too, she said. Eden lowered his eyes to her fingers.
— Is that an order?
— A debt. The word struck them both. Blood debt. Truth debt. Return debt. He placed his hand over hers, without trapping it.
— Then I will pay.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The port lights appeared in the distance. Huge cranes. Stacked containers. Orange lamps. Black water. A place made to swallow evidence. The car slowed before the north entrance. Behind the gates, a warehouse carried five aligned doors. Four red. One white. Selene felt her heart beat in her throat. Noe murmured:
— Dad said not to take the first white door. Eden looked at the doors.
— There is only one.
— Then it is not the first, Selene said.
— Or that is what they want you to think, Eden answered. The radio crackled. One of the scouts spoke:
— Movement by the containers. Three silhouettes. Possible Orsini. No visual on Dante. Then another voice entered the channel. Not a Veyr. Dante. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Warm. Amused.
— Eden, Eden, Eden. You really do bring everything that can make you bleed to the same place. It is almost romantic. Eden took the radio.
— Show yourself.
— Not yet. I like when families arrive with their debts and think the port will let them leave with the same ones. Selene almost ripped the radio from Eden's hands.
— Where is the last access? A silence. Then Dante laughed softly.
— Ah. The girl who was supposed to die finally speaks like an heir.
— Wrong answer.
— Very well. A door will open tonight. Behind it, you will find what your father sold, what Althea kept, and what Eden will never want you to see. Eden stiffened. Dante added:
— But every debt asks for blood. That is the title of the chapter, isn't it? The radio cut out. In the earpiece, Maelys breathed:
— I hate this guy. Even his threats are pretentious. Selene looked at the five doors. Roses had marked. Fig had trapped. Tuberose had spoken. Berries had opened. Lily had led to the port. Now, the blood debt was asking its price. Eden turned his head toward her.
— Last chance to stay in the car. Selene opened the door.
— You know very well that I won't. She stepped out into the rain. Noe followed. So did Eden. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11In front of them, the white door opened by itself. Slowly. Behind it, there was no light. Only darkness. And the scent of lily.
` }, { kind: "body", html: `The port lights appeared in the distance. Huge cranes. Stacked containers. Orange lamps. Black water. A place made to swallow evidence. The car slowed before the north entrance. Behind the gates, a warehouse carried five aligned doors. Four red. One white. Selene felt her heart beat in her throat. Noe murmured:
— Dad said not to take the first white door. Eden looked at the doors.
— There is only one.
— Then it is not the first, Selene said.
— Or that is what they want you to think, Eden answered. The radio crackled. One of the scouts spoke:
— Movement by the containers. Three silhouettes. Possible Orsini. No visual on Dante. Then another voice entered the channel. Not a Veyr. Dante. Ashfall - English Translation - Part 11Warm. Amused.
— Eden, Eden, Eden. You really do bring everything that can make you bleed to the same place. It is almost romantic. Eden took the radio.
— Show yourself.
— Not yet. I like when families arrive with their debts and think the port will let them leave with the same ones. Selene almost ripped the radio from Eden's hands.
— Where is the last access? A silence. Then Dante laughed softly.
— Ah. The girl who was supposed to die finally speaks like an heir.
— Wrong answer.
— Very well. A door will open tonight. Behind it, you will find what your father sold, what Althea kept, and what Eden will never want you to see. Eden stiffened. Dante added:
— But every debt asks for blood. That is the title of the chapter, isn't it? The radio cut out. In the earpiece, Maelys breathed:
— I hate this guy. Even his threats are pretentious. Selene looked at the five doors. Roses had marked. Fig had trapped. Tuberose had spoken. Berries had opened. Lily had led to the port. Now, the blood debt was asking its price. Eden turned his head toward her.
— Last chance to stay in the car. Selene opened the door.
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