Aria requests restricted access to seal logs without accusing the palace prematurely. Mira identifies after-hours...
Mira Quill refused to unlock the Oathstone Vault until Aria signed the chain-of-custody receipt in three separate places.
"Initial here for receiving the ship lien," Mira said. "Here for transfer into court custody. Here for no scraping, heating, charm-testing, sniffing, or clever foreign nonsense before the judge authorizes it."
Aria signed. The quill scratched too loudly in the stone corridor. Behind the iron door, a pale oathstone glowed under glass, surrounded by shelves of sealed logs and evidence packets. Two guards watched Seraphine as if her presence alone might stain the archive.
Seraphine held herself rigid. "If my seal is inside, I should be allowed to see it."
"You will," Aria said. "Through procedure."
One guard muttered, "Procedure sounds slower than guilt."
Cassian turned his head. "Say that again under oath."
The guard found the opposite wall fascinating.
Mira unlocked the inner table and placed the Starling Wake lien under a clear evidence frame. Its blue-black signature line caught the vault light. The ink looked almost wet, though Lucien had sworn the lien arrived dry.
"Restricted seal-log access," Aria said. "We need the entries for Veyr household seals, palace seal-room ink issue, and after-hours document withdrawals for the week before the auction."
Mira's hand stopped over the key ring. "That log names palace clerks."
"We are not accusing clerks. We are comparing custody."
"The palace will call it fishing."
"Then we ask for the narrow pond."
Chief Judge Elowen heard the application in the vault itself, not the public courtroom. The judge stood with her gloves on and her patience already thin. Renault Pike had come from the Exchequer Annex to object, carrying an expression of official injury.
"Restricted logs include sovereign seal practice," Renault said. "House Veyr seeks palace secrets to distract from debt."
Aria set the lien, the Rose Salon settlement schedule, and Mira's stamped palace note in a neat row. "House Veyr seeks four entries: date and hour of blue-black ink issue, access to Veyr seal impressions held for archive comparison, after-hours withdrawals matching Duke Mareth's claim packet dates, and return signatures for any document bearing Seraphine's seal."
Renault gave a dry smile. "So little."
"So enough," Aria said.
Judge Elowen looked at Mira. "Can the log be inspected without opening unrelated sovereign entries?"
Mira swallowed. "Yes, Your Honor. The seal room keeps a transaction index. I can mask nonresponsive lines and copy only matching dates, seal names, ink batches, and clerk initials."
Renault's smile vanished at the word initials.
Aria saw the reaction and did not chase it. Premature accusation would give him somewhere to hide. "We also request an oathstone authentication hearing under seal. The lien's ink and seal impression should be tested with proper chain of custody and cross-examination."
"Magic theater," Renault said.
Seraphine spoke from behind Aria, low and furious. "When your office uses my seal, it is administration. When I ask how, it is theater."
Judge Elowen's gaze moved to her. "Lady Veyr."
Seraphine bowed once. "Forgive me, Your Honor. I request the chance to learn whether my name was used while I was unable to defend it."
That did more than anger could have. It made the request smaller, sharper, and harder to mock.
Renault adjusted his cuff. "If the court permits any review, the debtor must not receive copies."
Aria answered immediately. "Agreed for raw logs. Counsel may inspect under seal. Responsive excerpts can be lodged with the court. Any public use requires further order."
Cassian's glance flicked toward her, approving. She had not asked for a parade. She had asked for a tool.
Judge Elowen took the lien frame in both hands and studied the blue-black line. "Restricted access granted. Clerk Quill will produce masked excerpts from the transaction index for the dates requested. The Starling Wake lien enters court custody as Exhibit Q-7. Oathstone authentication will proceed under seal tomorrow morning. No party may disclose log contents outside this case without leave of court."
Mira opened the ledger cabinet.
The seal logs were not dramatic at first. Columns of date, hour, ink batch, seal impression, clerk initials, withdrawal purpose, return signature. That dullness made them dangerous. False stories needed music. Real records worked line by line.
"Here," Mira said.
The entry matched the Starling Wake lien's ink batch. Blue-black palace archival ink, issued after eighth bell. Withdrawal purpose: comparison impression, Veyr private seal. Return signature: clerk initials obscured by a blot, but the access authorization bore Duke Mareth's hawk mark.
Cassian bent closer. "After eighth bell? The seal room closes at sixth."
Mira turned another page, face tight. "There are three after-hours entries. Same week. Same authorization mark. One corresponds to Garron's service returns."
Renault tried to step forward. "Those pages require Exchequer review."
Judge Elowen lifted one gloved finger. He stopped.
Aria felt Seraphine move beside her. "What day was the Veyr seal withdrawn?"
Mira checked the masked index against the detention calendar Cassian had brought from the first condemnation proceeding. The clerk's face lost color.
"Say it," Seraphine whispered.
Mira looked at the judge, then at Aria. "The withdrawal was during Lady Veyr's chapel detention. Public custody. Twelve witnesses listed. She could not have used the seal herself."
For a moment, the vault offered no sound except the oathstone's faint hum.
Judge Elowen closed the ledger. "Tomorrow's hearing remains sealed. Mr. Pike, inform the Exchequer that any missing seal-room page will be treated as interference with court evidence."
Renault bowed as if his neck hurt.
Seraphine stared at the framed lien. "They used my hand while my hands were locked in prayer."
Aria slid the receipt copy toward her, close enough to touch but not enough to break custody. "Then tomorrow we make the stone remember."