The bus rocked gently as it rolled through the quiet streets, morning light filtering in through the windows.
Everyone was awake now, bags stuffed at their feet, hair messy, bodies tired in that deep, post-adventure way.
Mira stood near the front and tapped the large tablet mounted beside the driver.
"Before we drop anyone off," she said, "video call."
The screen lit up.
Nyra appeared almost immediately, smiling wide.
She turned the tablet just enough to show the bed behind her.
Kael lay there, blanket pulled up, ash-gray ears relaxed, tail loose at his side. Breathing
slow.
Peaceful.
"He finally passed out," Nyra said. "Didn't even argue."
A soft wave of relief moved through the bus.
Eliot smiled, shoulders loosening. Leon nodded once, approving. Theo leaned forward, squinting at the screen.
"He looks… normal," Theo said quietly.
"Safe," Lunara corrected, standing slightly. "Thank you."
Nyra met her gaze and nodded without hesitation. "He is."
Rex grinned. "If he wakes up and eats all your snacks, I apologize in advance."
Nyra laughed. "Already warned."
Even Lunara's lips twitched.
The call ended, and the bus slowed.
Eliot's street came into view.
Theo immediately sat up straighter. "WAIT."
Eliot paused mid-stand. "What?"
Theo shoved his phone into his hands. "We still need to make the presentation. Fake photos. Fake reflections. Minimum ten slides."
Rex leaned over and smacked Theo lightly on the shoulder. "Let him breathe."
Theo snapped back, "YOU'RE the one who told him to procrastinate!"
Eliot blinked between them. "I—what presentation?"
Leon stood and adjusted his backpack, already at the door. "I'll help you later."
Theo nodded firmly. "You better."
Rex grinned and ruffled Eliot's hair. "You survived a wolf. You'll survive homework."
Leon waved once as the bus doors opened. "Text us."
They waved back—Elara half-asleep, Lunara quiet but steady, Eliot clutching his bag.
"What a trip," Elara muttered as they stepped down.
"I need to sleep for a year," she added.
Lunara's ears twitched under her beanie.
Inside the house, warmth wrapped around them.
They barely made it to the living room before Maris appeared with a tray—cookies, water, milk.
"There you are," she said softly.
They sat, tired limbs sinking into cushions.
Maris crossed straight to Eliot, cupping his head, kissing his hair. "I was worried."
"I'm okay," Eliot said quietly.
She ruffled his hair anyway.
Lunara spoke low, sincere. "He was safe. Everyone protected him. He's… fragile. Small."
Maris smiled at that, still ruffling Eliot's hair—then Elara's too.
Elara groaned. "I'm not a child."
"You are in my house," Maris replied fondly.
She looked at Lunara. "You don't need the beanie or coat here."
Lunara froze.
"…You're safe," Maris added.
Slowly, Lunara nodded.
For the first time since Ashfall, the trip truly felt over.
--
Someone had been waiting.
Leon stayed seated when the bus slowed the first time. Then the second. Then the third.
"Drop me last," he said quietly.
Mira glanced at him. "Why?"
Leon stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He gave her a small, unreadable smirk.
"Nothing serious."
The bus finally stopped.
As he stepped off, he lifted a hand in a brief wave. "Till tomorrow."
Mira watched him walk up the path and disappear inside his house before signaling the driver to move.
Brent exhaled loudly from his seat. "He's weird."
Mira didn't look away from the window. "He's being targeted."
The bus drove on.
Leon pushed the door open.
The light flicked on.
He froze.
The house was wrecked.
Drawers yanked out. Papers scattered. Cushions overturned. It looked like someone had searched—not vandalized, not rushed. Thorough.
"Mom…?"
His voice broke.
At the side of the couch sat his mother—Mrs. Hale—hands clasped in her lap, eyes closed.
She wore an oversized T-shirt and jeans, hair pulled into a messy bun that had slipped loose.
Leon rushed forward, dropping to his knees. "Mom. Mom—what happened?"
Her eyes snapped open.
She grabbed his face, fingers shaking, breath uneven. "Leon—Leon—they know your secret."
His heart slammed. "What?"
"They came," she whispered frantically. "Big men. Black clothes. They asked for you. They looked for you."
Leon swallowed. "How did they know?"
She shook her head, tears spilling as the bun unraveled. "I don't know. I don't know." She pulled him into a tight hug. "I was so scared."
He held her, steady, grounding. "I'm here."
"They pushed me," she said softly. "I hit my head. Everything went blank after that."
Leon's jaw tightened.
He stood abruptly. "Stay here. Don't move."
He ran.
His room was untouched—but that almost made it worse.
Leon dropped to his knees and yanked open the cabinet beneath his desk. He reached deep, fingers brushing cool stone.
Then—
Light.
A soft, clear glow filled the space.
The crystal.
Pale blue. Untouched. Humming faintly like it always had.
Leon exhaled for the first time since he'd entered the house.
"It's safe," he whispered.
He held it in his palm, watching the light catch on the walls.
They had searched everywhere.
And somehow… they hadn't seen it.
That was the part that didn't make sense.
And that scared him more than the mess.
---
Theo dropped onto his bed like gravity finally won.
Pajamas rumpled. Glasses still miraculously intact.
He sat cross-legged without thinking, back against the headboard, phone already in his hands like muscle memory.
Ashfall.
He scrolled through the photos slowly—the ones for the fake presentation.
One made him snort quietly.
Him crouched halfway under a table, trying to switch on a device while Rex, clearly bored, mashed two buttons at once like a menace.
Another—Eliot scribbling notes, brow furrowed, Leon bent slightly beside him, pointing at the screen.
Calm. Focused. Normal.
Theo's chest loosened a little.
Then his thumb stopped.
A photo he didn't remember taking.
The frame was messy, half-angled—but there, in the background, stood a man.
Captured mid-glare.
He was looking straight at the camera.
Theo's fingers tightened. He zoomed in.
The face blurred the more he tried to sharpen it. Sunglasses. A dark cap pulled low. Expression unreadable—but the intent wasn't.
The man looked surprised.
Caught.
Theo's stomach sank.
Memory clicked into place.
They'd been laughing. Rex had yanked his arm—almost knocking him over. He'd bumped into someone at the same time.
"Oh—sorry," Theo had muttered without looking back.
He swallowed.
This wasn't random.
"This needs to go to Mira," he murmured.
His thumbs moved automatically—then stopped.
When did I start trusting her?
The thought hit harder than the photo.
Theo blinked at the screen, jaw tightening. Then he backed out of the message.
"No," he said quietly.
He opened a new chat.
Eliot.
He attached the photo.
Found something weird in the Ashfall pics. Look at the background. Don't show Rex yet.
He stared at the message for a second longer, then sent it.
Theo leaned back, phone resting on his chest, glasses slipping just a little down his nose.
"Yeah," he whispered to himself. "That's better."
But his eyes stayed open long after the screen went dark.