The city did not release them easily.
Even after the shadows receded—slipping back into cracks of light and stone like they had never been there—their presence lingered.
Clinging.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kael felt it long after they left the square.
Long after they crossed the empty streets.
Long after the gates stood behind them once more.
It wasn’t just the memory of what had happened.
It was something deeper.
Something that had followed them.
They didn’t speak during the journey back.
No one did.
Not Lira.
Not the remaining warriors.
Not even Aria.
Especially not Aria.
Kael walked beside her, close enough to catch her if she stumbled—but far enough that their arms didn’t brush.
That distance had never existed before.
Not like this.
Not heavy.
Not deliberate.
He told him
