Cain kept walking. "Doesn't matter."
"You understand what meeting him means, yes?"
Cain didn't glance over. "I'm not fighting him for glory."
"Good," Leth said. "Because you're not fighting him for victory either."
Cain slowed. "What does that mean?"
Leth floated forward, turning to face him. "You can't defeat a Watcher. Not in his realm. You can only outmaneuver him long enough to take her back."
"That's enough for me."
"Be careful," Leth warned. "He's been watching you since the moment you stepped in."
"I figured."
The wind shifted. Sand curled upward in spirals.
Leth inhaled sharply. "Cain—"
A shadow rose on the horizon.
Huge.
Winged.
Stretched across half the sky.
Cain squared his shoulders. No running. No fear. Just purpose.
"Good," Leth whispered. "Hold on to that."
The shadow drew closer, slow and deliberate.
Cain didn't blink.
Because he already knew—
This wasn't the Watcher.
This was the threshold guardian.
And he had no intention of stopping.
