Chapter 58: Terms of Engagement
Nobody answered Rowan right away. The monitors along the walls cast a muted glow across the conference room while traffic from somewhere far below vibrated faintly through the building. Taryn stood near the end of the table flipping through one of the folders while Malric studied Rowan with the kind of interest that usually meant trouble. Corvin stayed beside her. Steady. Quiet. Watching the room more than the conversation itself. Rowan was becoming very aware of how often people adjusted themselves around him. Not fear exactly. Awareness. Respect sharpened carefully into caution. It changed the atmosphere every time he entered a room.
Malric finally broke the silence.
“You realize pushing back against the Council usually ends badly.”
Rowan glanced at him. “That sounds less like advice and more like personal experience.”
His smile flickered briefly.
“Fair.”
Taryn tossed a folder onto the table in front of Rowan.
“Three confirmed observers this morning. One outside your apartment, one near the temporary Blacke office, and another near Jess’s apartment before we moved her.”
Rowan looked down at the surveillance photos again. The anger still sat there, low and steady beneath her ribs.
“They’re looking for leverage,” she said.
“Yes,” Corvin answered.
Rowan looked toward him. “And if they find it?”
“They apply pressure.”
The calmness in his voice made the answer worse somehow. She exhaled slowly and leaned against the edge of the table.
“Okay. Then let’s make this difficult for them.”
Malric folded his arms. “You say that like you already have a plan.”
“I have irritation and bad instincts. Sometimes that’s enough.”
“That explains a surprising amount about you.”
Taryn covered a laugh with a cough.
Rowan pointed at Malric without looking away from the photographs.
“See, this is why your redemption arc feels suspicious.”
“I never asked for redemption.”
“That somehow makes it worse.”
Corvin moved around the table then, pulling one of the photos closer.
“This wasn’t random surveillance.”
Rowan stepped beside him automatically. The image showed the parking lot outside her apartment from an elevated angle. Her and Corvin standing near the car. The watcher partially visible near the edge of the frame.
Corvin tapped the corner of the image lightly.
“They wanted documentation of proximity.”
Rowan frowned. “Why.”
“Because the bond is stabilizing.”
Malric’s expression sharpened slightly.
“Faster than expected.”
Rowan looked between them. “Everybody keeps saying that like I’m mutating.”
Taryn leaned back in her chair.
“You’re adapting to supernatural influence without the usual side effects.”
“That sounds medically concerning.”
“It’s politically concerning,” Malric corrected.
“Not helping.”
Corvin’s attention shifted toward Rowan.
“The Council expected confusion. Emotional instability. Dependency.”
Instead, Rowan thought. Instead, she chose him. The realization settled quietly into the room between them.
Malric noticed first, because apparently nothing escaped him when emotional damage was involved.
“Oh, that is unfortunate timing.”
Rowan narrowed her eyes. “You say cryptic things entirely too often.”
“You’re making the situation more complicated.”
“Again. Not helpful.”
Malric pushed one of the files aside and looked directly at her.
“The bond was supposed to make you easier to predict.”
“And now?”
Corvin answered before Malric could.
“Now they’re uncertain.”
Something about that steadied Rowan more than it should have. Uncertain meant the Council did not fully understand what was happening anymore. Good. She was getting tired of being the only confused person in the room. Taryn slid another photograph toward them. This one showed the apartment where Jess lives.
Rowan’s expression tightened instantly.
“You moved her already?”
“Yes,” Taryn said. “Before they got closer.”
Rowan stared at the image for another second before looking away. The room felt smaller suddenly. The Council had stopped observing casually. They were circling the people connected to her now. Jess, Blacke Industries, and Corvin. Every line kept leading back to the same point. Her.
Malric watched her carefully.
“You’re thinking about responsibility.”
“No,” Rowan said honestly. “I’m thinking about how tired I am of being handled.”
That quieted the room more effectively than raising her voice would have. Corvin’s gaze settled on her again. Which was somehow worse for her ability to stay emotionally composed.
Rowan dragged a hand through her hair and looked toward the monitors covering the wall.
“So explain something to me,” she said. “What happens if we stop being careful?”
Taryn frowned slightly. “Define careful.”
“We stop hiding the bond.”
Silence. Actual silence this time.
Malric stared at her for a long moment before laughing softly under his breath.
“Well,” he said, “that would certainly get their attention.”
Corvin did not react outwardly, but Rowan felt the shift in his focus immediately.
“You’re serious,” he said.
“Yes.”
Taryn straightened from her chair. “Rowan, that changes the board entirely.”
“Good.”
“You don’t know how public supernatural politics works.”
“No, but I understand pressure.” Rowan looked around the room. “Right now they think I’m isolated. Temporary. Easier to corner quietly.”
Malric’s amusement disappeared completely.
“And you want to remove that assumption.”
“Yes.”
The room settled again while everyone recalculated around her. For the first time since this started, Rowan felt it happen in real time. Not people protecting her. People adjusting to her. The difference mattered.
Corvin’s voice broke the silence.
“If we do this, there’s no returning to anonymity afterward.”
Rowan looked at him steadily.
“I lost anonymity weeks ago.”
Neither of them looked away. Something warmer moved quietly through the bond then. Not overwhelming. Not distracting. Recognition. Like he finally understood she had stopped thinking about escape entirely.
Taryn noticed the shift between them and sighed softly.
“I hate that this is probably the smartest option.”
Malric leaned back against the table.
“No, you hate that she’s becoming difficult to control.”
Taryn pointed at him immediately. “You are included in that statement.”
“Fair.”
Rowan looked down at the surveillance photo one last time before sliding it back across the table.
“So,” she said calmly, “how exactly do we make the Council nervous?”