The Broken Halo

Simon had expected Sonya to obtain something.

He had not expected her to drag the information out of the guard commander while sitting across him in an interrogation room.

The guard commander had entered the conversation with every advantage. He controlled the questions, possessed the authority of Velmora’s guards, and knew far more about the investigation than either of them.

Sonya had still found the one weakness he could not hide.

His pride.

She had allowed him to grow angry, questioned the competence of his subordinates, then offered him conclusions he could not tolerate. Each time he corrected her, he surrendered another piece of information which Simon needed.

The vice-leader had survived, and he had not spoken. More importantly, he had remained unconscious since he was found.

Simon looked at Sonya from the corner of his eye.

Her face was calm, but the slight lift at the edge of her lips showed that she knew exactly what she had accomplished.

He was genuinely surprised.

The mission given to him by the demoness of the Black Banner had become clearer, though not necessarily easier.

Simon still needed to discover where the vice-leader was being held, the protection around him, and whether Velmora intended to move him after he awakened. His continued unconsciousness meant he had not exposed Crownless Dawn, but it also meant Simon could not obtain information from him yet.

The eastern faction would not wait forever either.

There was a high possibility that other assassins had already been sent after the vice-leader. Simon needed to locate the prisoner before one of them reached him, but there was no reason to decide his entire approach while sitting inside the Black Horn Office.

First, he would leave without creating more suspicion.

His attention shifted to Korran.

The Black Horn Vice Commander had remained quiet through most of the exchange. He had stopped the guard commander from attacking Sonya, but he had done almost nothing to prevent her from leading the conversation where she wanted.

Why?

Perhaps Korran considered the prisoner’s condition unimportant. Knowing that an unconscious rebel existed was useless if Simon and Sonya could not reach him.

Perhaps he had wanted to see what Sonya was doing and why she was interested.

There was also a chance that Korran had allowed the exchange because the guard commander’s anger had crossed a line. Interfering too early might have made it appear as though Black Horn approved of the commander threatening a witness during a recorded statement.

A darker possibility also entered Simon’s mind.

Korran could be connected to Black Banner.

The thought lingered for less than a breath before Simon pushed it aside.

A Black Horn Vice Commander secretly serving the rebellion was not impossible, but accepting such an absurd conclusion because Korran had stayed silent during one conversation would be foolish.

If Korran belonged to Black Banner, then his involvement in the invasion recruitment, their war oath, and the investigation into the destroyed cell of the dead Eastern Warden would carry implications far beyond Velmora.

It was too shocking to accept without evidence.

Still, Simon did not remove the possibility completely.

Korran had allowed them to learn something. Whether he had done so carelessly, deliberately, or because he wanted to observe their reactions remained unknown.

Simon would remember it.

Across the table, Sonya leaned forward again.

"If he has been unconscious since-"

"That’s enough, Sonya." Simon cut her off.

Her mouth remained open for half a second before she slowly turned toward him.

Simon met her gaze.

They already possessed more than he had expected to learn during this visit. Pushing further might force Korran to interfere or make the commander realize that their interest in the prisoner extended beyond Sonya’s statement.

There was also no benefit in turning the commander into a permanent enemy.

He was a Superior Greater Demon who controlled a large part of Velmora’s guards. His anger could close routes Simon had not even discovered yet.

Sonya studied Simon for a moment, then leaned back with a small shrug.

Simon faced the commander.

"Commander, I apologize for her conduct."

Sonya’s head snapped toward him.

The guard commander, however, said nothing. His fingers were still wrapped around the ruined metal sheet, and the coldness in his eyes had not weakened.

"She should not have provoked you during an official statement," Simon continued. "Do not hold her manners against the rest of us."

"I did nothing wrong," Sonya said.

Simon slowly turned his head.

She folded her arms and looked at him with a frown.

"I asked questions, and he answered them. Tell me how I’m at fault for simply asking questions."

The commander’s aura stirred again, but Korran’s fingers touched the table before the pressure could spread.

"Sonya," Simon said quietly.

Something in his tone made her click her tongue and look away.

Simon turned to Korran.

"And I apologize for the disturbance inside your office."

Korran raised one brow.

"You were not the one who caused it."

Simon calmly shook his head.

"I came to prevent her from causing another scene."

A brief silence followed.

Korran glanced at the crumpled metal sheet, the flickering recording crystal, and the commander whose shoulder he had been forced to restrain.

"You were not particularly successful."

Sonya released a short laugh.

The commander gave her a cold glare, but Sonya did not care in the slightest. She continued laughing, and even when she stopped, her lips continued twitching.

Simon exhaled softly.

"Can we finish the statement?"

The commander stared at him for several breaths. The anger in his eyes remained, but it gradually settled beneath a colder layer of control.

Finally, he released the ruined sheet and pulled another one from the stack.

"Sit properly," he told Sonya.

Sonya uncrossed her legs with exaggerated obedience.

The commander ignored it for the sake of his mental health.

The remaining questions were more precise.

He asked how many rebels Sonya sensed beneath the bathhouse, which formations activated first, and where the hidden route had been located. He made her describe the sequence of the explosions, the pillars she raised beneath the surrounding buildings, and the warning she gave before pulling the rebel base from the ground.

Sonya answered without further mockery.

She admitted when she did not know something, corrected the commander twice when he mixed up the order of events, and explained how the Half-Step Greater Demon had attempted to escape with his vice-leaders.

Simon remained silent and listened.

No one mentioned the prisoner again.

The commander occasionally paused to compare Sonya’s account with the notes before him. Each time, the recording crystal pulsed and transferred another line of pale light into the metal sheet.

Korran asked only three questions. All concerned the collapse formation and whether Sonya had sensed any connection leading beyond the bathhouse.

She answered that the formation had been contained within the underground base and that she had sensed no distant activation point.

At last, the commander lowered the final sheet.

"Is everything you have said accurate to the best of your knowledge?"

Sonya rested both hands on the table.

"It is."

The commander touched the recording crystal.

Its pale light folded inward, and a black horn symbol appeared across the completed record.

"Your formal statement is concluded."

The crystal went dark.

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