Lena's POV
Rourke found me in the war room two days after the council session, while I was reviewing the eastern perimeter reports that had become, somewhere in the past weeks, a habitual part of my evenings.
He stood across the table without sitting, which I had come to understand was not his usual approach to a conversation he had decided to have rather than one he had been obligated to conduct.
"You handled the treaty matter well," he said.
"Thank you."
He was quiet for a moment, his hands resting flat on the table, the particular stillness of a man working up to something.
"I want you to know that I am not your enemy," he said. "I have been cold to you since you arrived. I want to explain why, though I am aware the explanation does not undo the coldness."
I set down my pen and w
