Sera's Pov
The ride back began with little ceremony. Aurora drove the van ahead, her cargo grim and heavy—crates of weapons stacked alongside the shrouded body of the fallen runner. We followed in silence, in the van we had arrived in. One of the guys from our team had taken the wheel. I found myself in the front passenger seat again, eyes scanning the passing terrain like a hawk.
The trees were thick, crowding the dirt road like sentries. The afternoon light had dulled into the dusky hue of approaching evening, and everything felt... too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet. The kind that made your gut clench with dread.
No one said a word.
Even Kael, who usually had something sarcastic or smug to throw out, kept his mouth shut. Tension clung to the air like humidity before a storm.
We'd travelled almost halfway and the path seemed clear. The earlier relief was just starting to settle when a metallic clank and violent rattle shook the van.
