The next day, John was in the Dravnok Empire's capital city.
He left the others behind on purpose. Mr. Tauren worked best alone, a rumor with no fixed shape, and rumors didn't travel well in groups of four.
"Stay with Ythera," he told them before he left. "Train, get stronger, and if the opportunity comes up to rattle Dranvok somewhere I'm not, take it. Just don't get seen doing it together."
"We won't need to be seen," Azelis said, Vhastra pacing a slow circle around her ankles. "We'll just be gone before anyone finishes reacting."
Jibril's storm-feathered companion, Vaelirash, stretched her healing wings out fully for the first time in days, clearly agreeing. Even the freed wolf, who'd spent two weeks watching all of them from a careful distance, had finally lowered his head to Yuna the evening before without a single word of prompting from anyone.
