Smoke still curled from the scorched crater like a battlefield exhale.
Everyone stood in silence.
Clara leaned against Raven's arm, rubbing her forehead. Jessy wiped blood from her lip. Rufus lay flat on his back, mumbling something about a vacation.
Siris was threatening to perform a dramatic funeral for his soul. Again.
Then, amidst the groans and sighs of relief…
"…Wait," Selena murmured, her eyes narrowing.
"Something's wrong," Jessy added, her tone unusually alert.
Raven's dragon-scale armor had faded, his bare chest still steaming slightly in the sunlight, but his gaze sharpened immediately. "Where's the yelling?"
They all froze.
The battlefield was silent—way too quiet.
Raven slowly turned his head. "Where's… the loud one?"
"You mean Alex?" Rufus asked. "He's right there, looking as dumb as ever."
Alex, still half-merged with Blargh and coughing up a bit of smoke, lifted his arms. "Hey, rude."
Clara blinked. "Crisaius?"
