"I want help, lots of help…" William paused, noticing Berry's eyes darting frantically around the courtyard as if she were searching for the silver robes of her uncles or the imposing figure of her father. "But not the kind of help that requires their intervention."
"This…" Berry hesitated, her confusion deepening. In her world, power was a vertical line.
Her leverage, her safety, and her very identity were anchored to the protection of her grandfather, followed by her father and her uncles. To ask for help while bypassing the pillars of the clan seemed like a contradiction.
"We cannot distract them from the primary defence," William said, his mind working with a mechanical, cold efficiency.
At this moment, the vast life experience of a man who had seen civilisations crumble showed its true worth. "They are preparing the clan for a standard Grade 3 invasion. If we go to them now with theories they won't understand, we only create friction where there should be focus."
