They spent the next day going through the ledgers, page by page, discovering the depths of Julian's corruption.
"Look at this," Lyra said, pointing to a series of entries. "Payments to Council members. Bribes. Julian bought his position, bought the vote that made him head of House Voss."
Kael leaned closer, reading the names. Nobles he recognized, men his father had trusted. All of them bought and paid for by Julian's gold.
"My father never had a chance," he said quietly. "Julian planned this for years. The debts, the failed investments—he sabotaged everything, then stepped in to 'save' the house."
"It's worse than that," Rake added, flipping through another ledger. "See these payments? Julian was paying people to refuse your father's business deals. He systematically destroyed House Voss from the inside while pretending to be loyal."
The rage that had been simmering in Kael's chest flared hot and bright. His father hadn't failed. He'd been murdered, just not with a blade.
"There's more," Lyra continued, her voice grim as she read from a third ledger. "Protection money from merchants, not just in the Black Market but in the legitimate quarters too. Extortion. Money laundering through seven different fronts. And..." She paused, her face going pale. "And payments to the orphanage."
"What?" Ethan looked up from where he'd been sitting quietly. "The orphanage where I was taken?"
"Yes," Lyra said, her voice tight with barely controlled fury. "Julian paid them to take you. Told them I'd abandoned you. Then he 'discovered' where you were and offered to 'help' me—for a price."
"So everything," Ethan said slowly, "was planned. You didn't lose me. He took me."
"That bastard," Lyra whispered, and Kael had never heard such venom in her voice. "He manipulated everything. Everyone."
"He's good at it," Rake said grimly. "But now we have proof. We can expose him, turn his allies against him, destroy everything he's built."
"How?" Kael asked. "If we just release this information, he'll claim it's forged. The Council will protect him."
"Not if we're smart about it," Lyra said, her mind clearly racing through possibilities. "We don't release everything at once. We leak it slowly. One scandal at a time. Make him paranoid. Make him lash out. When he starts attacking his own allies—that's when we strike."
Rake nodded appreciatively. "You're devious. I like it."
"I've had six months to think about how to hurt him," Lyra replied coldly. "I have a lot of ideas."
Over the next few hours, they formed a plan. First, they would leak evidence of Julian bribing a Council member—Lord Ashford, who had a reputation for honesty that would make the accusation devastating.
Then, they would leak evidence of Julian's protection rackets in the merchant quarter, turning the legitimate business owners against him.
Finally, they would expose his connection to the orphanage scheme, which would turn public opinion against him completely.
"Three strikes," Rake said. "Each one weakening him. By the time we're done, he'll have no allies left."
"Except the ones too compromised to abandon him," Lyra added. "Those will be desperate and dangerous."
"Let them be dangerous," Kael said, his hand resting on Soulrender's hilt. "I can handle dangerous."
"You can handle fighters," Lyra corrected. "But Julian isn't just going to send more assassins. He's going to get creative. Poison, traps, hostages—he'll do whatever it takes to survive."
"Then we'll be creative too," Kael replied. "We've stayed one step ahead so far."
"So far," Lyra echoed, but she didn't look convinced.
That night, Kael couldn't sleep. He stood by the window, watching the Black Market below. Somewhere out there, Julian was probably sleeping peacefully in Kael's father's bed, wearing Kael's family crest, thinking he'd won.
"Can't sleep?" Lyra's voice came from behind him.
Kael turned to see her standing in the doorway, wrapped in a blanket. "Too much on my mind."
"Want to talk about it?" She moved to stand beside him, looking out at the same view.
"Just thinking about my father," Kael said. "About how Julian destroyed him. Not quickly, but slowly. Years of calculated cruelty."
"That makes it worse somehow, doesn't it?" Lyra said softly. "If Julian had just been a murderer, it would be simpler. But he's a predator. Patient. Methodical."
"I'm going to make him pay for every moment of suffering he caused."
"I know you will," Lyra said, and there was absolute certainty in her voice. "But Kael... after he's dead, after this is all over, what then?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, will revenge be enough? Will killing Julian fill the hole his actions left in your life?" She turned to face him directly. "I need to know that you're fighting for more than just death. That there's something you want to live for."
Kael met her eyes, seeing the genuine concern there, the fear that he might become nothing more than a weapon pointed at Julian.
"I'm fighting for my father's memory," he said slowly, working through the thoughts as he spoke. "For the life Julian stole from me. But also..." He glanced back at the room where Ethan slept, at Rake's men standing guard, at Lyra herself. "Also for this. For the people who've chosen to stand with me. For the chance to make things right."
Lyra smiled, reaching out to take his hand. "That's good. That's something worth fighting for."
"What about you?" Kael asked. "What will you do after?"
"I'll rebuild," she said simply. "Take Ethan somewhere safe. Start over. Maybe open that shop I mentioned. Live quietly for once." She squeezed his hand. "You could come with us, you know. After this is done. Leave all of this behind."
The thought was tempting. A quiet life. Peace. No more killing.
But Kael knew better. "The sword won't let me go. Even if I wanted to walk away, it's part of me now."
"Then we'll figure it out together," Lyra said firmly. "Whatever comes next, whatever the sword demands, we'll handle it. You're not alone in this anymore."
Kael pulled her close, holding her against him. She was warm and solid and real, an anchor in the storm of violence and revenge that had become his life.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For reminding me I'm still human."
They stood there for a long moment, wrapped in each other's warmth, looking out at the city that had tried to destroy them both.
Tomorrow, they would leak the first scandal. Tomorrow, the war against Julian would enter its next phase.
But tonight, they had each other, and for now, that was enough.
* * *
END OF CHAPTER 17