Caleb
"So remind me why we can't just kick them out?" Marcus asked, leaning against the doorframe of my office, arms crossed over his chest.
I rubbed my temples, trying to ward off the headache that had been threatening all morning. "Because they're Council monitors, and technically, they have jurisdiction here."
"Technically," he repeated, emphasis on the first syllable. "But in reality, they're just making everyone miserable and getting in the way."
He wasn't wrong. The three gray-robed monitors had been hovering around the packhouse for days now, asking endless questions, watching us all with those cold, evaluating eyes. The iron-haired woman—Councilor Thorne, she'd finally introduced herself as—was the worst, always appearing exactly when tensions were highest.
"Trust me, I want t
