---
Sha glanced at the darkening horizon. "It will be night soon. We should make camp."
"I agree," Akayoroi said, her voice steady. "He needs real recovery. His aura is frayed, and the backlash from essence siphoning weakened his star core."
Kai opened one bleary eye. "You're going to overdo it again, aren't you?"
Vel crouched beside him with the softest smile. "Yes. Obviously."
They set up camp outside the cave, transforming the crater floor into a cozy nest. Moss, feathers, and dried vines lined the resting area, carefully arranged like a ritual. It was embarrassingly luxurious for a war-torn battleground.
Azhara brewed a steaming tonic from her ridiculous undergarment pouch. No one dared ask how medicinal herbs, dried roots, and a tea strainer ended up inside her underwear. That way lies madness.
