Vane’s face twisted, the accusation of heresy fracturing the last of his judicial veneer into something rabid and ugly. He didn't back down; he doubled down.
"You speak to me of the Divine?" Vane screamed, spittle flying from his lips, completely abandoning his pretense of calm. "Do not preach to me about the Goddess, boy! That 'miracle' you cling to was nothing but a show! A parlor trick dreamed up by a desperate Elemental to save her own skin!"
He jabbed a manicured finger toward the empty Pack House, his voice pitching into hysteria.
"She manipulated the energy! She faked the blessing! She did it to save herself and to legitimize her future mutts!"
The word hung in the air like a live grenade.
Finnegan didn't flinch. But the ambient temperature on the porch plummeted so violently t
