My stomach tightens. Public justice means someone pays, and not quietly.
“What does that look like to you?” Nathan asks, stepping in before Ezra can escalate this further.
“A formal apology from the girl,” Christopher says. “Acknowledgment that my blood outranks her, and discipline carried out in front of witnesses.”
The girl. My fingers curl into the edge of the counter. Ezra’s silence stretches longer this time, and I know that silence, I know the way it means he’s balancing numbers in his head, territory lines and supply routes and border patrol strength and what losing Christopher’s backing would mean if rogues push harder.
“She did nothing wrong,” Ezra says finally.
Christopher doesn’t hesitate. “Then you choose her over alliance.”
The air in the room feels thinner. Nathan shift
