Avery swept a sharp, resolute gaze across the Archive. Her hands moved with a jagged, silver-tongued intensity, her communication stone flashing the message: "If there is a drop of doubt regarding this memory-stone, I invite the High Sentinels of the Council to put every flicker of it under a magnifying glass. I am ready for the law of the Ridge to weigh my truth."

Rachel Simpson stood paralyzed. She glanced at Madison, the silence in the hall vibrating like a taut bowstring.

Madison, consumed by a feral panic, lunged from behind Rachel. Her hand lashed out, delivering a stinging slap that echoed like a crack of thunder. "You lying Omega!...