We had everything prepared, but the day dragged like a chain. Every hammer strike in the yard, every voice that was carried from the scaffolds, and every paw of a patrol scuffing against stone, it all sounded like it could break into alarm. Crowmarket wasn’t a name, it was a weight pressing on all of us. By the time the sun sagged into the trees, the nerves in my shoulders were as tight as bowstrings. Liora found me near the half-finished longhouse, and she shot me with a look. It was time. We gathered in the council room, what was left of it. Kody stood tall at my side, face unreadable but jaw clenched. Andrew had the new ledger tucked under one arm, his ink-stained fingers twitching against the cover like he wanted to rehearse every number one more time. Owen leaned against the wall, arm
