She set the page down carefully.
Magnus waited.
"I left the claim open," Lila said. The words came out flat, as if she were reciting a report. "I kept Frostfang's position clean. Mads measured the gap and put three bodies in it. Thorne is burying them on ground I would not take under our banner."
"Yes."
"If I had taken the claim, Eirik would own the language of every southern move I make for years. If I had not drawn the line against the method, the next strike would already be planned. Both of those things are true. The graves are also true."
Magnus's hand settled on her shoulder. She did not lean into it. She also did not move away.
"You are allowed to hate the arithmetic," he said.
"I hate the arithmetic." Her voice stayed level. "I will not pretend the arithmetic was optional. That is the part that does not let me sleep."
She went to the day's session and performed the work of a northern queen whose brother was absent and whose bloodline had become a public seam.
