The last group pressed through the gate in a tight knot.
Two nuns first, one limping, the other keeping an arm wrapped around her waist. Behind them came the children with their small hands clutching cloth sleeves and each other as the pale light swallowed them one by one.
Mira counted under her breath until the final figure vanished.
The gate folded in on itself and went out.
Silence returned to the ruined rooftop.
Mira let out a breath she had been holding too long and turned, already talking with a chirpy attitude. "This is the final orphanage done!! I'm so happy! See? We really are making a great team. You're the muscle, and I'm the brains and-"
Her forehead met something solid.
She stumbled back half a step, blinking, nose stinging.
"Huh?" She tilted her head up, confused. "What's going on?"
Quinlan had not moved. He was facing her now.
"We're done here. Greyhaven has fallen. You are to rejoin your colleagues on the other side."
