The delegation retreated in unseemly haste, their polished shoes kicking up clouds of red dust as they scrambled back into their sedans. The cars sped away, vanishing into the tree line as if the forest itself were chasing them out. This time, however, the dust did not feel like a threat; it felt like debris being swept from the floor of a house that had finally been cleaned.
Nala stood on the veranda, watching the last of the black cars disappear.
Mayang moved closer to him, her lithe body leaning against his shoulder. "This is only the first wave, Nala. They will return with more lawyers, perhaps even with the weight of governments behind them."
"Let them return," Nala said, his arm sliding around her waist, pulling her into the warmth of his side. "The greater the force they bring,
