บททั้งหมดของ REBORN TO BREAK YOU: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

SennaI think the dead have a way of making the living talk. It’s the only way I can explain why a man I don’t know just gave me the key to a murder. He didn't even know he was doing it.“Sit down on the stool,” I said. “The light is better over here.”The man groaned as he sat. He smelled like old dust and wet horse. He was a merchant, the kind that carries silk and spices between the big packs. His clothes were nice, but they were covered in mud from the road. He held his right arm against his chest.“It’s the wheel, healer,” he said. “Stupid cart wheel caught a rock two miles back. I tried to brace it, and then... pop. I heard it pop.”“Let me see,” I said. I reached out and took his hand. It was warm and thick. His wrist was already turning purple. “I’m going to move it. It will hurt.”“Go ahead. I’ve had worse. Once, in the southern marshes, a goat bit me so hard I... ow! Mother of wolves, that’s sharp!”“It’s a bad sprain,” I said, keeping my voice flat and calm. I liked being a

SennaI wasn’t supposed to feel happy here. Not really. But the warmth of the fire, and the sound of people laughing, it got to me anyway. My chest felt a bit too full, a bit too open, and that was a dangerous feeling.We got that forest land back, the one everyone fought over for so long, and the air in the great hall felt loud and light. Everyone was talking, smiling. It was real. This joy. And for a second, it felt like mine too."You look like you're about to crack a smile, Senna," Lyra said, her own laugh bubbling up. She was piling a plate high with roasted meats and some sweet fruit, her eyes sparkling like the fire. "Careful, it might hurt your face."I just rolled my eyes, but a little smile did tug at my mouth. I couldn't help it. "Don't push it, Lyra. Someone has to be the sensible one around here." I liked Lyra. She was easy. She didn't ask too many questions about why I was always a bit, well, guarded. She just let me be."Sensible just means boring on a night like this,"

SennaVera finally said it out loud today. She told Dax who she thinks I really am. That changes everything, and it means my time is running out faster than I thought.I was in the infirmary sorting through some dried herbs when Rhea came in. She didn’t look like herself. Her face was very white, and her hands were shaking so much she almost dropped the bowl she was carrying. She leaned against the door and breathed hard."Rhea? What’s wrong?" I asked. I stood up and went to her. "Are you sick?""No," she whispered. She looked down the hallway to make sure no one was there. Then she stepped inside and shut the door. "I was just near the Alpha’s corridor. I was supposed to deliver those reports to the assistant. The door to Dax’s office was open just a little bit."I felt a cold prickle on the back of my neck. "And you heard something.""I heard Vera," Rhea said. She sat down on a stool, her knees looking weak. "She wasn’t even whispering, Senna. She sounded so sure of herself. She was

SennaThe sound of the soup tray hitting the floor was louder than any scream. “Watch where you’re going, girl,” a man named Kol said. He was a mid-level wolf, the kind who thinks being ranked means he can be a bully.He didn’t just trip her. He had stuck his foot out on purpose. I saw it from across the room while I was drinking my tea.Lyra was on her knees. She didn't look up. She started trying to pick up the broken pieces of ceramic with her bare hands. Her fingers were shaking.“I’m sorry,” Lyra whispered. “I’m so sorry. I’ll clean it up. I’ll get more.”Kol laughed and looked at his three friends. They were all sitting there, watching her like she was a show.“You’re a clumsy little thing, aren’t you?” Kol said. He kicked a piece of bread across the floor. “Maybe if you spent more time looking at the floor instead of trying to look at the warriors, you wouldn’t be such a mess.”“I wasn’t looking at anyone,” Lyra said. She sounded like she was going to cry. “Please, I’ll fix it

SennaI should have looked closer the first time. Sometimes your brain sees the big words and skips the small ones. I needed to go back to the records room. I grabbed a clipboard and a stack of inventory forms, making sure I looked like just another busy healer doing her boring supply check.The records room was quiet and smelled like old paper and dust. I moved things until I found the diplomatic arrangement sub-record. My hands were shaking a little bit, but I kept them steady because I have a job to do. I opened the record and flipped past the first few pages until I reached the supplemental understanding. I ignored the names at the top. I took a deep breath and looked right at the bottom, where the ink was dark and the signatures were cramped.There were two names. One was a steward I remembered from the old records, the one who quit and left the pack months ago. My eyes tracked over to the second one. My heart hit my ribs like a trapped bird.Elder Orin.He wasn't just a name. He