The cupcake in Halloway's hand should have looked ridiculous. A weathered man with blood—or worse—still fresh on his conscience, eating chocolate and lavender like it was teatime.
But he chewed slowly, deliberately, like he was buying time to choose his words.
The Lieutenant finished his cupcake in silence. The faint color that had bloomed in his cheeks remained, making him look almost alive instead of carved from pale stone.
Marron busied herself wrapping the remaining cupcakes, giving them space. Whatever was coming, she could feel it building like pressure before a storm.
Halloway set down his wrapper. When he spoke, his voice was controlled, but Marron heard the ice underneath. "Your kind infiltrated my Guild."
The Lieutenant didn't flinch. "Yes, we did."
"Impersonated my people. Lived among us. Stole their faces, their lives." Halloway's hands curled into fists at his sides. "Juno. Do you remember that name?"
