The safe zone appeared on the horizon just as the sun was setting, a shimmering dome of translucent energy stretching over what had to be several city blocks, inside the dome the buildings stood intact, lights actually on, people moving through streets free of rubble.
Nox saw it from about half a mile away, stopped walking.
'That's the place huh? Looks almost normal, which is suspicious as hell.'
He'd been walking behind the princess for the last few hours, keeping that ten-foot distance they'd silently agreed on, neither of them had spoken since leaving the plaza where they'd killed the Devourer, the silence had been heavy but not entirely uncomfortable, two predators sizing each other up while pretending not to.
She'd disappeared about an hour ago.
One moment she was ahead of him on the road, the next she'd taken some side street and vanished, he'd stopped, waited a few minutes to see if she'd come back, she hadn't.
'Fine, whatever, she can do her thing, I'll do mine.'
