Chapter 208: The Line to the Capital
The crystal pulsed a fourth time.
Draven held it in his gloved palm and watched the violet light crawl beneath the polished surface.
"Open it," he said.
Corwyn stared up at him from the iron chair. His hands were whole. They had not stopped shaking since Draven mended them.
"You want me to hand you the Believers," Corwyn rasped. "You want me to give you the only people in that city who are trying to stop this."
"No."
Draven crouched down until the white mask was level with the Envoy's face.
"You bought that crystal to keep a fleet on the ground. Nothing about that has changed. The fleet is still in the northern yards. Your Believers are still waiting on a transmission that is an hour late, and every minute you sit here quiet, they get closer to deciding you are already dead."
He set the crystal on the Envoy's knee.
"You are not betraying them. You are keeping them breathing. That is the entire offer."
Corwyn looked at the crystal.
