Julius looked at Arturo.
Arturo had the same expression as before, the one that meant he wanted to argue and had already recognized the argument was over.
He nodded once.
"But we need to think about how to slow down the now smaller mutant flows enough that the city doesn't fall while we do this." Julius looked back at his brother. "Hold the defense. I'm going to respond to Orion positively on his demands and buy us the time we need to prepare the ceremony. Give me an hour to come and help you later."
"An hour," Arturo repeated, with the tone of someone accepting a deadline that both of them knew could shift with circumstances but that served as an anchor for the next sequence of decisions.
