[Ace's POV]
Hours passed. The darkness deepened around us, and the air grew colder, biting through our clothes with increasing insistence. Gale, sitting across from me, had finally succumbed to sleep—his head lolling against the wagon wall, his usual scowl softened into something almost peaceful, his prism wings folded and dim. Ann had also drifted off, curled beside Ray, her body relaxed in a way it never was when she was awake. Ray still held the reins, his orange eyes scanning the road ahead with unwavering vigilance.
Beside me, Ovelia remained awake. She hugged the fairy stuffed toy to her chest, her red eyes fixed on some middle distance, lost in thought. The destruction we'd left behind still haunted her—I could see it in the set of her shoulders, the occasional tremor of her breath.
I should have intervened, I thought bitterly. If I'd stopped Gale's lesson, none of that would have happened.
"Are you alright?" I asked softly.
