“I do.”
I take one step forward.
“And if you detain us without clearance, you delay that report. Which means you delay your response. Which means whatever this becomes spreads further before you act.”
I hold his gaze, letting the weight of that settle fully.
“You don’t need to believe me,” I add. “You just need to decide whether ignoring this is a risk you’re willing to take.”
Another pause.
“What do you want?” he asks.
There it is.
“I want to speak to someone who can act on this,” I reply. “Not observe it.”
“You’re not in a position to make demands.”
“I’m the only one here who knows what happens if you don’t listen.”
He is searching for weakness, for uncertainty, for anything that would justify dismissing this.
He doesn’t find it. Finally, he steps back.
“We’ll relay the request,” he says.
“Do more than that,” I reply. “Make them understand it’s urgent.”
His gaze slices through me again, but this time there’s something else in it. Recognition.
Then he turns, signaling the others, and they move as one, withdrawing through the pass with measured speed, disappearing back into the forest the same way they arrived.
I let out a measured breath, the tension leaving my shoulders, and only then do I turn back toward Vaedros.
He’s already watching me.
“You forced escalation,” he says.
“Yes.”
“They’ll respond.”
“They have to.”
“You didn’t tell them everything.”
“No.”
“And you won’t.”
“Not yet.”
I glance back toward the pass, where the last traces of their movement have already disappeared.
“They’ll move faster now,” I say. “Which means we do too.”
He doesn’t argue. Because the board just changed. And now they’re finally part of it.