POV: Seraphina
They left at first light on a Thursday, when the territory was still dark enough that the departure felt private rather than ceremonial.
Kendrick and Ashina were both there, as promised. Kael stood slightly apart from the small group that had gathered, with Lyra beside him holding Marcus against her chest and the particular expression of someone who had decided to be present for a difficult thing rather than avoiding it. Vera was there, having spent the previous evening writing a second letter to her contact with instructions for the meeting day itself. Ryker, who had been up since before dawn coordinating the final operational details, stood with his mate Zara in the quiet way of people who had been together long enough that presence was its own form of communication.
