Thoren
The silence in the room had changed.
It no longer felt like waiting. It felt like pressure—something building steadily beneath the surface, contained for now but not for much longer. Every second stretched, not because nothing was happening, but because everything that mattered was happening somewhere else. Out in the dark. Out on the road where Nevara was still moving, still pushing forward with Noah depending on her to make it all the way back.
That was where my focus should have been.
Instead, I was here.
Counting time in a place that had already outlived its usefulness.
Kael’s phone vibrated sharply in his hand, the sound cutting through the room like a blade. Both of us turned toward it immediately, the shift in attention instinctive. He didn’t hesitate or check the scree
