Tavian Roarke had signed his first border agreement with the visiting clan at the long table beneath the Roarke council chamber windows.
He had been twenty-six. The terms had taken less than an hour.
Today, the clan representatives had spent forty minutes refusing tea.
Their lead representative pushed Tavian’s revised crossing schedule back across the table. “This closes the eastern route during our winter movement.”
“It restricts commercial vehicles between midnight and dawn,” Tavian said. “Your family transports remain exempt.”
“They were exempt in the previous agreement.”
“The previous agreement did not account for Arkwright inspections along neutral ground.”
The representative tapped the second page. “It also did not charge our carriers for delays created by Roarke searches.”
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