“State your intent,” he says.
His voice is level. Controlled. Not aggressive.
“I’m here to give you something you don’t have,” I reply.
His gaze sharpens.
“We already have what we need.”
“No,” I say calmly. “You don’t.”
The silence that follows stretches just enough to matter, tension building in the space between certainty and doubt. Behind me, I can feel Vaedros, still, watching, but not interfering.
The scout takes a step forward. “You’re making an assumption.”
“I’m correcting one.”
I reach slowly into my pack, careful in every movement, giving them time to track it, to decide whether to react, and pull out one of the fragments from the ruin. Stone. Marked. Wrong.
Even at a distance, it carries something with it. I hold it up just enough for them to see.
“This came from the artifact,” I say.
That gets their attention.
“That object is not yours to handle,” the lead scout says.
“It isn’t yours either,” I reply. “Not anymore.”
His posture shifts, tension tightening through the formation, and for a while I think they’ll move, that they’ll choose containment over conversation. That’s what I need.
“It originated from your relic lines,” I continue, pressing forward before they can act. “Old ones. Older than anything currently in circulation. Buried for a reason.”
“You’re speculating.”
“I’m not.”
“It’s already been activated,” I add.
That changes everything. The reaction is immediate this time, not visible in movement, but in the way their attention locks fully onto me instead of splitting between me and Vaedros.
“That’s not possible,” one of them says.
“It is,” I reply. “And it’s already influencing the war.”
They’re recalculating. I can see it.
“Step forward,” the lead scout says. “Both of you.”
There it is, but I don’t move. Instead, I tilt my head slightly, studying him.
“You’re not in command,” I say.
That stops him. The others shift slightly, tension breaking formation for just a second.
“You’re second rotation,” I continue, voice steady. “Forward scout, not decision authority. You’ll report this up before acting on it.”
“You don’t know that.”