Under Orders
This was not Vale’s correction to make.
He stepped forward when the sequence ended, his movement precise enough to draw attention without spectacle.
“Adjust your timing,” Elias said, voice calm.
Renn’s eyes flicked toward him. “My timing is correct.”
“It’s inefficient,” Elias replied.
A murmur rippled through the formation—small, quickly suppressed. Renn’s jaw tightened.
“I wasn’t instructed to take orders from you,” Renn said.
The words landed cleanly. Carefully chosen.
Elias felt the weight of the moment settle into his spine. This was the fracture made visible, the point where authority either crystallized or dissolved.
Hot Chapters