“They are treating this like a siege,” Atticus says.
Lucian tilts his head slightly.
“They are treating it like an acquisition.”
The word lands wrong.
Axel’s eyes darken.
“You will choose your next words carefully,” he says.
Lucian’s lips curve faintly.
“I am not threatening,” he replies, “I am clarifying.”
The orb pulses again, but the light does not surge violently this time and instead spreads outward in a low steady wave that hums through the stone floor.
The land answers.
Not with tremor.
With alignment.
“They felt that alignment,” Lucian continues quietly, “and they understand that the territory’s stability is tied to her presence.”
Atticus’s jaw tightens.
“So they cut the territory off and force negotiation.”
“Yes,” Lucian replies.
Axel inhales sharply.
“They will n
