He exhaled once, hard. "Just came back from the park building. The elders… they were—arguing. About you."
I should have felt vindicated in that—tickled by the knowledge they schemed. Instead, annoyance slid along my ribs. I'd grown used to their background mutterings. They worried in circles and placed their fears in the mouths of other men. It made them feel powerful.
"About me?" I asked. The words were flat; the interest feigned. Rook's eyes darted to the men, ensuring we held confidentiality with our glances.
"They said you're getting out of hand. Said you can't keep dismissing them." His voice was quick and clipped, as if he had already rehearsed betraying them. "They say you need to be reminded of the council. They say—" He swallowed. The rest of his sentence came out in a rush, like water over a rock. "They said that if you refuse to come to them, they'll send someone. They want—someone they can control."
