Alaric's jaw tightened. Every word she spoke only confirmed how carefully hidden the spider was, how deep this web had sunk into the Empire.
"You waited a month to strike again," he said slowly, his tone cutting. "Because you knew we were close. Too close."
Her eyes flickered, betraying her.
Alaric caught it. He always did.
He straightened "I was right," he murmured, almost to himself. "The lion's roar made the rats scatter. But you… you've crawled back into the open."
The woman's lips parted as if to speak, but Alaric silenced her with a look.
Inside, recognition still gnawed at him like a blade twisting in his ribs but outwardly, he gave nothing away.
"You'll talk," he said coldly, turning toward the door. "If not tonight, then tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after. Until every secret you cling to rots out of your mouth."
He slammed the torch into its house and left the cell, the iron door clanging shut behind him.
