The hush that followed the collapse of the gate wasn't tranquil. It was loud in its absence. The clearing still smoldered, its heat hanging over the ground like a warning. The sick-green runes had faded, gone black and fractured like ancient bone, but the memory of their light remained in Serena's eyes.
She remained kneeling in the dirt for longer than she knew.
The wind had picked up. It kicked up the ash around them, filling the air with gray flakes that floated like snow that no longer remembered how to come down. Lucian hadn't moved either. His sword was sunk into the ground next to him, and his hand lay on its hilt like it was the only thing holding him up.
Kael stirred in back of them, coughing. The noise broke the spell.
Serena rose slowly, brushing ash from her knees. Her body was heavy, each limb turned to smoke and sorrow. But there was still fire in her, deep, deep down. A spark that Elias had planted, like a parting gift.
"We have to move," she said.
