The silence after the retreat was unbearable.
Ash still drifted through the air, caught in the folds of Nyra's cloak, clinging to her lashes. The field around them lay like a graveyard untouched for centuries, but the echo of Kaito's voice vibrated inside her chest as if he were standing at her side.
It wasn't only sound—it was weight. A pull. A tether woven through the breach and anchored into her heart.
She hadn't realized how much she had been waiting for it, how badly she had wanted to hear him again. Even distorted, even fractured, it had been him.
And that was what terrified her most.
Kael was the first to break the stillness. He dragged his sword against the earth as though he couldn't bear to keep it idle.
"What was that? They had us dead to rights. Then—just gone." He glanced toward Nyra, suspicion sharp in his tone. "What did you do?"
