And Gisa points a finger at Waten and says, “We don’t have a policy for exiling people from Crystal Hollow. But anyone who buys this man’s bread is not welcome here any longer.”
Waten gasps. “How dare you! Iprotectedus—”
“You protected yourself, atourexpense,” Nomi growls at him.
“This is preposterous!” he yells. “You’re—you’re only angry because that—thatsageis making you angry—”
“Oh, no no no,” I croon. “You all know what it feels like, now, when I hold your emotions in the palm of my hand.”
Waten visibly breaks out in sweat, because not a single person here is going to gainsay that.
I could do it more subtly, of course.
But I have no need to.
“They wouldn’t be doing this if not for you!” Waten accuses.
I lean back against the wall. “If you need a threat to learn not to sacrifice people, then I will provide it. If you need history shoved in your face to realize that sacrificing others will buy you only false security, then I will provide it.”
My wrath-powered words slice like blades.
“But if you need to feel the welcome of a community,” I tell him, “to understand that solidarity is the only wayanyof us will ever have freedom, then I have bad news,neighbor. You had that opportunity, and you forfeited it.”
The room is silent for a moment. And then—
“Well, if we’re throwing all our scales on the table,” Zan drawls next to me.
Before I can do more than tense—I did it so he didn’t need to, but Teren did it so I didn’t need to, and if we’re really anusthengodsdammit—Zan’s eyes begin to glow.
But not like a sage’s do.
His irises vanish, and a moment later, his disguise peels away, revealing his brilliant blue hair for all to see.
Haben quickly sets Gisa on the ground before she falls, as more than one person who’d begun to recover control of themselves now find their expressions slack once more.
“The reasonanyof you have working appliances in your homes,” Zan says coolly, “is because five hundred years ago, when the Quiet fell, I allowed a rogue sage and a resident from Crystal Hollow—Tasa, whose mark you all know as the woman who rebuilt this entire town—to embed my scales within your homes, to power your magic so you would not need to be reliant on the Order.
“Learned Mujin didn’t have time to sabotage all of your homes while the Sage of Compassion was keeping you occupied because Yora intervened. You think you are at his mercy.
“ButIknow where all my scales are, and I can take them back.”
Ohhh, shit.
“So remaining as you were,” Zan says, “is no longer an option. You can no longer have freedom from consequences without taking responsibility.”
He looks at Romasa, specifically, who gapes at him.
“All of you who chose to live in Crystal Hollow away from the Order can choose to make this place a sanctuary for no one,” Zan says. “Or you can choose to make it a sanctuary for anyone who is willing to stand. Those are the options you have today.”
This silence hangs for a moment, with no one knowing quite how to respond.
In fairness, we have just piled a whole bunch of revelations on them at once.
Teren isn’t here to advise me not to push them too far.
Then Gisa lets out a disgusted breath. “Adragonhas done more for our own people than we have. How embarrassing.” She looks at Nomi. “Even that old fart you apprenticed with was part of this.”
A ghost of a smile crosses Nomi’s face, as if Gisa used a term of endearment. “Everyone who’s lived in my house for the last five hundred years has been part of the resistance. Mainly making sure all your damn stoves work, to be honest, but also helping out sages when the chance arises. The fight isn’t new to Crystal Hollow.”
