Behind them, voices echoed from the main square. Garrik's booming laugh, Kale's chatter, Rynn's clipped responses.
The younger hunters were gathering again, adrenaline not quite spent. Lucen turned his head slightly to listen.
"…I'm telling you," Kale was saying, "the copies don't react instantly, they lag by maybe a tenth of a second. If I can phase during that gap—"
"You'll get yourself killed," Rynn cut in flatly.
Lucen smirked faintly. 'At least they're learning.'
Selindra's voice rose above the rest. "If you're done theorizing, get food. Then sleep. We're not patching you up twice in one day."
Lucen pushed off the railing and started toward the mess hall. Varik followed a few steps behind, hands clasped loosely behind his back.
The island's light shifted as the sun sank lower, shadows stretching long over the training grounds. For the first time in a long while, there wasn't screaming or sirens or the metallic tang of blood in the air, just quiet.
Lucen didn't trust it.
