Aveline's thoughts drifted back to the people she had met inside the abandoned warehouse.
The rebels.
They were rough around the edges. Some carried scars that ran deeper than the ones visible on their skin. They had every reason to resent the nobles who had abandoned them, and hatred had found a place inside many of their hearts. Yet beneath that anger, she had seen something else.
Compassion.
Every one of them had risked their lives tonight for people they did not even know.
"They won't mind," she said quietly.
Theron looked down at her.
"Hm?"
"I don't think they'll care who delivers the cotton." She rested her chin upon her folded arms, watching the first streaks of dawn stretch across the eastern sky. "As long as it reaches the people who need it."
Her voice was gentle, but there was not the slightest hesitation in it.
