#Chapter 29: Off the Record

Word travels fast at the summit. By morning, I was a headline in the rumor mill. I could feel the stares before I’d even stepped off the elevator—curious, cautious, some admiring, others skeptical. People paused mid-conversation when I passed, their eyes lingering, voices lowering to just above a whisper. The echo of my defense from the night before was still rippling through the halls. Apparently, standing up at a council dinner and calling out political optics made me either a hero or a liability, depending on who you asked. Emma intercepted me halfway down the corridor, holding a sleek folder and grinning like she’d just won a bet. "You’ve got media training," she said, shoving the folder into my arms. I blinked. "What?" "Beta’s orders. Just in case someone shoves a mic in your face again." I flipped open the folder, scanning the bolded bullet points. "Well tell Nathan it wasn’t supposed to be a speech." "Yeah, and yet here we are. Look at you, local legend." Her t