“It is if you won’t come anywhere else.”
There’s no hesitation in that, and I don’t like how easily she says it. I study her for a moment, then nod once. “You have a minute.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It’s what you get.”
She steps closer anyway, not arguing the limit so much as ignoring it, and stops just inside the edge of my space. It isn’t submissive, and it isn’t reckless; it’s calculated in a way I don’t think she realizes yet.
“What’s happening out there?” she asks.
“Define ‘out there.’”
“Don’t do that,” she snaps, the frustration in her voice sharp enough to cut through the controlled quiet of the corridor. “You know what I mean.”
I tilt my head slightly, watching her. “Then say it.”
“Villages are getting hit,” she says. “Supply lines are breaking, and it’s not random.”
“Orc activity has increased along the northern routes,” I reply. “It’s being handled.”
“Handled how?” she presses.
“Containment. Rerouting. Standard response.”
Her expression tightens. “That’s not handling it. That’s letting it happen and adjusting around it.”
“It’s effective,” I say.
“For who?”
The question lands harder than it should, and I feel it before I can decide not to. “For Orthani,” I answer. “For the estate.”
She lets out a quiet, humorless breath. “Right. Of course.”
I take a step closer, closing the space she created. “Be careful.”
“Why?” she fires back. “Because I’m saying it out loud?”
“Yes.”
She doesn’t retreat. “You’ve seen the reports,” she says. “You know what they’re doing.”
“I’ve seen movement.”
“Stop reducing it,” she snaps. “It’s not just movement.”
I watch her for a moment, then gesture slightly with my hand. “Then explain it.”
She doesn’t hesitate. “They’re advancing. They’re hitting outer villages first, forcing supply lines to shift, then pushing inward once the response weakens. They’re testing how far they can go before anyone actually pushes back.”
She’s right, and I don’t like that she’s right. I don’t like that she’s saying it like it’s obvious.
“And?” I ask.
“And they’re not going to stop,” she says, stepping closer again. “Not until they hit something that makes them.”
“And you think that’s here.”
