Borrowed Voice · Chapter 5

Unreadable Skin

Magister Vey interrogates them. She cannot decode the Rhenni brands, so she treats Ilan as a locked box she intends to own. Cassien lies, sells a relic, and buys three days. Ilan reveals a partial truth: his voice was cut out at nine and taken in a casket. To call it home, he needs a mouth wearing a chain of Rhenni brands. He starts building one.