The morning we left the outpost was colder than any before it.
I woke to the sound of packing,zippers closing slowly, weapons clinking softly against stone, boots scraping on concrete as people moved in the dim gray light. The air smelled of dust and old metal, mixed with the faint, lingering warmth from last night's stove fire. My bunk felt harder than ever, the thin blanket doing little against the chill that had seeped in overnight.
Twenty-six days of training were over.
We weren't the same people who had stumbled into this place, broken and desperate.
But we weren't ready either.
Not for Lord Azael.
Not for what waited in his castle.
Not for the truths we carried now.
I sat up slowly, rubbing sleep from my eyes. My body ached in every place,muscles sore from drills, bruises yellowing on my arms and legs, scrapes scabbed over from falls on the padded floors. The training dagger lay beside me, its grip worn smooth from my small hands. It felt familiar now. Like an extension of me.
Across the room, Nyx was already up, sitting on the edge of her bunk with her knees drawn to her chest. Her wings were folded tight against her back, trembling slightly as if cold. She stared at her hands, flexing them open and closed, like she was testing if they still belonged to her.
"Morning," I whispered, voice hoarse from sleep.
She looked up, black-rose eyes dimmer than usual, petals barely blooming. "Is it morning? Feels the same as night."
I didn't know how to answer that.
Kael was packing his things methodically, movements smooth now that his hand was healed. The swelling was gone, fingers perfect, skin smooth. The serum had worked completely. But his face was drawn, eyes shadowed with something darker than exhaustion. Guilt, maybe. Or fear of what came next.
He hadn't told the group yet.
But we all knew.
The empty bottle was gone from the trash,hidden or destroyed.
Lira checked her knives one last time, sliding them into sheaths with quiet precision. Her face was stone, but her eyes were red-rimmed, like she'd cried in the night or hadn't slept at all. She paused when she saw me watching, offering a small nod,the closest she came to a smile these days.
Amie and Kai loaded the last of the supplies into packs,canned food, water purifiers, ammunition, medical kits, extra blankets. Enough to last the journey north. Enough to reach the castle.
If we made it that far.
Xeno stood by the window, shovel leaning against the wall within arm's reach, blindfolded face turned toward the gray horizon. He hadn't moved much since last night. Hadn't slept, I thought. Just stood watch, silent as always.
We were leaving the only safe place we'd had in months.
And none of us knew if we'd find another.
Breakfast was quiet, but warmer than usual.
Kai had saved the last of the good rations,rehydrated eggs that actually tasted like eggs, dried fruit that was sweet, coffee from an ancient packet that was bitter but hot. We ate sitting in a circle on the training mats, bowls in laps, steam rising in the cold air.
No one spoke at first.
The weight of departure pressed down too heavy for words.
Nyx poked at her eggs with curiosity, taking small bites like she was discovering taste all over again. "This yellow stuff... it's soft. And warm. Why does it make the empty place feel... full?"
Kai smiled softly, ruffling her curls. "That's food doing its job, kid. Eggs. Protein. Keeps you strong."
She took another bite, eyes widening. "Strong like you?"
"Strong like us," he corrected. "All of us."
She looked around the circle,Lira's stone face, Kael's haunted eyes, Amie's quiet smile, Xeno's silence, my small form.
"Even me?" she asked quietly.
"Especially you," Amie said.
Nyx's wings fluttered once, a small, happy movement. She ate faster then, like she was afraid the feeling would disappear.
Like she was afraid she would disappear.
Kael ate mechanically, healed hand steady on his spoon. No tremor. No pain.
But his eyes flicked to the group, guilt flashing when they met Amie's.
She noticed.
"We'll talk about it on the road," she said quietly.
He nodded, but didn't meet her gaze again.
Packing took longer than it should have.
We checked everything twice,three times.
Weapons sharp and oiled.
Packs balanced for long marches.
Rations counted and divided.
Medical kits stocked,bandages, painkillers, the few antibiotics left.
Amie handed me an extra water purifier straw, small and light. "For you. In case we get separated."
My throat tightened. "We won't."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Hope not. But plans change."
Lira gave me a small knife,sheath worn soft from years of use, blade sharp enough to cut paper. "Hide it well. Use it if you have to. No hesitation."
I took it with trembling fingers, tucking it into my boot like she'd shown me during training.
Even Nyx gave me something,a single black feather from her wing, iridescent in the gray light. "For luck," she said. "Or memory. So you remember me if I..." She trailed off.
If I forget myself.
I tucked the feather into my pocket, next to the small cross chain Xeno had given me long ago, back when it was just us against the world.
Xeno didn't give me anything new.
But when our eyes met,mine and his blindfolded gaze,he nodded once.
That was enough.
It always was.
The door creaked open on rusted hinges, cold wind rushing in like it had been waiting.
We stepped out into the gray.
The outpost looked smaller from outside,half-buried in the hill, concrete cracked and weathered by years of wind and dust. Vines had started creeping over the walls, nature reclaiming what humans had built. It had sheltered us. Trained us. Given us twenty-six days we wouldn't have had otherwise.
Kai locked the door behind us, the key slipping into his pocket with a soft click.
"No going back," he said quietly.
No one answered.
We started walking north.
The terrain was rough from the start,hills rising steeper than before, ground cracked and uneven, rocks shifting under boots. My pack dug into my shoulders, heavier than during training, filled with supplies for the long march. My legs burned early, muscles protesting the real weight after practice dummies.
But I kept pace.
Lira walked point, knife ready, eyes scanning every shadow. Amie and Kai flanked the group, alert for threats. Kael brought up the rear with Nyx, her wings helping her balance on loose rocks, small hand occasionally steadying him when he stumbled,his healed body still adjusting to full strength.
Xeno walked beside me.
Silent.
Always silent.
But his presence was steady. Reassuring.
Like a promise he couldn't speak.
We walked until midday, stopping only once for water in the shade of a ruined wall.
The landscape shifted slowly,hills giving way to broken plains again, scattered ruins of pre-fall structures poking from the earth like forgotten bones. Wind whipped dust into our faces, stinging eyes and throat.
Nyx flew low sometimes, scouting ahead, wings beating strong despite her small size. She landed beside me during the break, breathing hard but grinning.
"I remembered how to fly today," she said. "Almost forgot last night. But it's still there."
"That's good," I said.
"Yeah." She flexed her wings. "For now."
Kai handed out dried fruit, portions small but sweet. We ate in silence, saving energy for words that mattered.
Lira sat apart, sharpening her knife with slow, rhythmic strokes. The sound was comforting,steady, familiar.
Amie checked maps,old paper ones from the outpost, marked with Kai's notes.
"Three days to the castle if we push," she said. "Four if we take it careful."
"Careful," Lira said. "We can't afford mistakes."
Kael nodded, but his eyes were distant.
Xeno stood watch, shovel planted in the ground like a staff.
Nyx leaned against Kai, wings draped. "Tell me about ice cream again."
Kai smiled. "Cold. Sweet. Melts on your tongue. Comes in flavors,chocolate, vanilla, strawberry."
"Strawberry," Nyx repeated. "Like berries?"
"Better."
She closed her eyes, imagining. "When we win... I want strawberry."
"When we win," Kai promised.
The afternoon march was harder.
The ground turned rockier, forcing us to climb more than walk. My hands were scraped raw from grabbing stone for balance, legs trembling with fatigue. The pack felt heavier with every step, straps cutting into shoulders.
Kael fell once, cursing as his knee hit rock. Nyx was there instantly, small hands helping him up.
"You okay, old man?"
He managed a weak smile. "Fine."
But he wasn't.
None of us were.
We pushed on.
As the gray light began to fade,though it never truly brightened or darkened,Amie called a halt in a shallow depression between hills, sheltered from wind.
Camp was quick,blankets spread, small smokeless stove lit, rations heated.
We ate in silence at first.
Then Nyx spoke, voice small.
"I forgot something today."
We all looked at her.
"What?" Amie asked gently.
Nyx frowned, touching her temple. "The training room. How it smelled. Dust and sweat and... home. I remember leaving. But not what it felt like inside."
The words landed like stones.
Kai put an arm around her shoulders. "We'll make new memories."
She leaned into him. "Will I remember those?"
He didn't answer.
Couldn't.
That night, as we lay under blankets, the wind howling outside our shelter, I listened to the others.
Lira on watch, knife ready.
Kai and Amie talking softly about routes, contingencies.
Kael staring at his healed hand in the dark, flexing fingers like they were foreign.
Nyx curled near the stove's dying warmth, wings draped like a blanket, breathing slow and even.
Xeno sitting against a rock, shovel across his lap, blindfolded face turned toward the north.
Toward the castle.
Toward Lord Azael.
I closed my eyes.
And for the first time in days, the whispers were quiet.
Just the sound of wind.
Of breathing.
Of people I cared about.
People who cared about me.
Tomorrow we would walk closer to the end.
To the castle.
To the book.
To the fall.
But tonight...
Tonight we were together.
And that was enough.