She climbed to her feet, steadied herself against the fountain's edge, and rolled her shoulders until her neck cracked.
"Fine," she said. "Let's go find our fearless leader and ask him why teleporting us halfway across the continent without warning was the smartest move he could've made."
"He knows what he's doing..."
"Then he should also know the murder I'm going to commit..."
Kevin almost smiled. Almost.
They walked toward the doors together, leaving the fountain and the painted windows behind. The bell on the pedestal between the doors had stopped humming now, sitting silent and innocent as if it hadn't done anything at all.
Kevin didn't trust it.
He pushed the left door open wider, just enough to slip through, and stepped into the forest beyond.
The trees were still.
The light was dim.
And somewhere ahead, he heard the sound of fire.
***
The forest didn't try to kill them immediately, which Kevin took as a bad sign.
