He hadn't meant to return so soon.
But the silence thinned too fast. The weight of that high place turned hollow, and somewhere between his last breath and the next blink, Arthur realized that the waiting, however justified, was over.
He crossed the sea before it could name him again. No luggage, no farewells. Just cloth on his back and the furnace hum still coiled under his ribs. The Typhoon loomed slower than he remembered, slower than his breath, slower than purpose.
He overtook it by dusk.
Aleks still lay in the core chamber, stabilized by runes and effort. Seisyll had left behind scorch marks on the steel support beams, a reminder of his temper or his care, it was hard to tell which. The Lorebreakers were spread through the ship, none expecting him yet. He landed without sound.
By morning, he had left them again.
