"Make a lesson," Gerard said between his teeth.
"We don't feed their rhythm," Elowen answered. "Bind him for a lawful tribunal." She nodded at the engineers. "Stack wet brush on the cart. Park it where Ironmark can see themselves. No speeches."
Marleon's aide watched with a reluctant respect that he hid poorly. "You can govern quietly," he said, almost to himself.
The Serewyn representative watched too. Something had shifted in his stance that wasn't quite shame, wasn't quite fear.
A runner came to Aelthrin with a small folded note wrapped in oilcloth. He broke the tie. The writing inside had been made in a hurry and then controlled. The line was short. He covered it with his thumb and slid it into his sleeve without comment. His face did not change. He went to the canvas and adjusted the chalk dates by a half-day in one place that mattered to no one who didn't know how to listen.
