“Good,” I said, offering her a brief nod.
She moved efficiently, quietly, already settling into the role in a way that felt natural rather than forced.
She wasn’t replacing what we had lost, only continuing it, and somehow that mattered more than I had expected. The realization stirred another thought almost immediately.
“Have you seen Kael?” I asked.
Elena hesitated.
“Earlier,” she said. “In the lower corridor.”
“And?”
Her expression shifted slightly.
“I’m not sure he saw me.”
That wasn’t like him.
Even distracted, Kael noticed everything.
“What do you mean?”
“He was moving quickly,” she said. “But not… with purpose.”
That tightened something in my chest.
“Like he was trying to outrun something,” she added carefully.
I exchanged a look with Thoren.
We both understood what
