Elder Trone finally nodded. “You have my vote.”
Others followed.
One by one, hands raised.
Ethan sat back, silent.
Maddy stood frozen, surrounded by people who used to defer to her.
No one looked at her.
Everyone listened to Sophia.
---
The meeting adjourned. Scrolls were rolled. Chairs scraped. Councilors filed out.
Maddy still stood by the door with hand clenched on the frame as though she had to lean on it to remain erect.
Slowly Ethan rose, his face indifferent.
He advanced to Sophia, and then paused four or five feet away.
He said quietly, "You needn't do that."
Sophia glanced not at him.
She gathered her notes. “Then she shouldn’t have made herself necessary to correct.”
“She’s trying,” he offered.
Sophia lifted her gaze to his.
“So am I. But not to earn favor. I’m
