Crystal chimed as servers lifted domes in one synchronized breath. Conversation rose, then thinned. Harrison stood at the head of the long table, a glass of water in his hand because wine would tell the cameras too much.
“Envoy," he said, voice steady. “Councilors, allies. Tonight we begin work none of us can afford to fail."
Charlotte sat halfway down, Thunder Fang guards ghosting the walls behind her like parentheses. She met his eyes without smiling.
Elder Maeve inclined her head. “Proceed."
Harrison kept it short. “We propose corridor splits along the north ridge, joint patrols at dusk and pre-dawn, reciprocal right of pursuit with notification inside ten minutes." He paused. The speech he had not written clawed at his throat. He swallowed it. “We will sign what we agree."
Polite
