The hardliners did not wait for the stewards’ legal declaration. They sent a single representative at dusk the following day, walking openly up the towpath while the last petitioners were still being seen. The crowd parted for him. Everyone recognized the empty sleeve and the sealed, fingerless hand from the stories that had already begun to circulate.
He stopped at the open doorway and looked directly at Lira. “My name is Kael. I was the one who tried to cut the lattice in the Root Kiln. I am not here with blades tonight.”
Sera moved to Lira’s shoulder. Tovan and Mira stayed at their benches but stopped working. Elene wiped her hands slowly on her apron. Cal watched from the slate table, eyes wide.
Kael continued, voice level. “The faction I belonged to has split. Some still want the v
