Samantha exhaled slowly, untangling herself from the sheets.
She dressed in silence, the simple tunic Luna had provided very practical.
She caught her reflection in the mirror and barely recognized herself—the steel in her eyes, the quiet determination in her stance.
She wasn't the same woman who had stumbled, terrified, into this supernatural world. And Maelith wasn't the only one who had changed.
Behind her, Marcus stirred awake, his voice a rumble. "Already up?"
"Couldn't sleep anymore."
He rose without further comment, moving to fasten his own weapons with calm efficiency.
Callum joined them moments later, every motion precise, economical, a warrior preparing for war.
The silence between them wasn't heavy anymore. It was focused, sharpened to a blade's edge.
When they finally stepped out of the chamber together, Samantha felt the faintest trace of Maelith's whisper coil in her mind.
Ah, so the battlefield awaits.
