SILO POV
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He waited days.
Not out of hesitation — the decision had been made before the testimony, held carefully until the compound had space for something that wasn't about grief or history or the accumulated weight of sixty years finally set down. He wanted this to be its own thing, untangled from everything else, given the full attention it deserved.
He asked Duke to help him with the painting.
Not the technique — Duke's skill was different from his own, and Silo had never needed help with the actual work. He asked because he wanted someone he trusted to see it before Vael did, to tell him honestly whether it said what he intended it to say.
Duke looked at the canvas for a long time.
"It's the clearest one you've made," he said finally.
"Is that good."
"It's exactly right,"
