We got back to New Drakhal two days after Arhenor. The trip was quiet. Nobody asked me anything. I think they could feel it — that whatever happened in that tunnel had changed something in me. Again.
I was getting tired of changing.
Kaelon rode beside me the whole way. Didn't say a word. Just stayed close. That was his way. He didn't need to understand what I saw to know it was bad. He just needed to be there. And honestly? That was enough.
The city looked the same when we arrived. Banners still up. Guards at the gates. People moving through the streets like the world wasn't about to crack open. I envied them. Must be nice, not knowing.
Orzoth was waiting at the castle entrance. Arms crossed, that look on his face — the one that meant he had bad news but was going to let me sit down first.
"How bad?" I asked before he could speak.
"Depends on how you define bad."
"Orzoth."
