The Betrayal Revealed
The sea sounded different when we re-entered the chamber. Sharper. Less like an atmosphere. More like a warning. Nothing in the room had moved. The elders stood in their same positions. The long table remained a border disguised as furniture. The emissary still occupied his place like a polished omission. But Garrett now held a second folder. Thinner. Deliberate. Silas took his place opposite him without hesitation. The bond between us did not flare. It narrowed. Focused. The elder struck the gavel once. "The hearing resumes." Garrett inclined his head. His posture was precise, but as he set the folder down, I saw it—the faint tightening at the corner of his eye. A delay in his next breath. Cost. Not doubt. But cost. "Before the petition proceeds," he said evenly, "North
- Writer
