Consciousness returned slowly, like rising through deep water.
Lena's eyes opened to a sky half-hidden by canopy, grey and indifferent. Pain greeted her—sharp, insistent, radiating from the wound in her side where the blade had entered. But it was less than before. Much less.
She'd healed.
Not completely—the wound was still there, still tender, still wrong—but enough. Enough to move. Enough to think.
She pushed herself up, ignoring the protest of her body, and looked around.
The clearing was a graveyard.
Bodies everywhere. Ninja-clad assassins in their dark cloths, twisted in death, their blood soaking into the earth. Dozens of them. Jordan's work. Her partner's masterpiece.
But Jordan wasn't there.
Lena's eyes swept the clearing again, searching, hoping. Nothing. Just the dead, and the trees, and the cold weight of absence.
Rage took her.
It wasn't hot—not the burning fury of battle or the desperate fire of survival. This was cold. Absolute. The rage of someone who had just realized that the person they cared about most had been taken.
Pulse rushed through her body like lightning.
The wound in her side closed—instant, complete, as if it had never existed. Every ache, every bruise, every trace of exhaustion vanished in a surge of power that left her trembling with its intensity.
She was whole.
She moved among the dead, her eyes cold, her purpose clear. A knife here. Another there. A katana from the hand of a fallen assassin—good steel, balanced, sharp. She tested its weight, felt its edge, and nodded.
Then she found the tracks.
Footprints. Drag marks. A trail leading away from the clearing, away from the bodies, into the darkness of the forest.
She followed.
---
Wolfen's eyes opened to find Zoey sitting beside him, her scarred face wearing an expression of exaggerated patience.
"Wakey wakey, sleepy head."
Wolfen groaned, pushing himself up. His ribs ached—the healing was almost complete, but not quite. "Not funny. Where did that thing go?"
"I scared it off."
He raised one eyebrow—that particular expression that said I've known you long enough to know when you're exaggerating.
Zoey pointed at the destruction in front of them.
Wolfen looked.
Trees uprooted. Cratered earth. Debris scattered everywhere like a tornado had touched down and decided to stay for a while. The scale of it was... impressive.
"Okay," he said slowly. "So you did."
"Told you."
Their radio erupted.
"Hello? Hello? Wolfen? Zoey?" Leo's voice crackled through the static, urgent and strained. "We have a problem!"
Wolfen grabbed the device. "What happened?"
"Jordan and Lena aren't responding. Something's happened to them."
Wolfen's jaw tightened. "Okay. You guys go find them. We'll come after we get Lily."
"No." Eva's voice cut through, sharp and absolute. "We need to find Jordan. He's family."
Wolfen was quiet for a moment. The radio hissed.
"Lily's family too," he said finally.
"I know." Eva's voice softened, just slightly. "But Jordan's out there now. In danger now. We can't just... we can't lose anyone else."
Wolfen looked at Zoey. She met his gaze, her expression unreadable.
Zoey reached for her own device, fingers moving over it in silent communication.
Wolfen stood, testing his body. Sore, but functional. Good enough.
"Eva, Leo—find them. We'll handle Lily. But if you need us, call. We'll come running."
"Understood." A pause. "Wolfen?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful. Both of you."
Wolfen's lips curved—not quite a smile, but close. "Always."
The radio went silent.
Zoey tucked her device away and looked at him. "Dave knows. He'll work from the ranger station."
"Good." Wolfen started walking, toward the direction they'd been heading before the creature attacked. "Let's move. Lily's not getting any easier to find."
Zoey fell into step beside him.
"Hey, Wolfie?"
He shot her a look. "Don't."
"Just checking to make sure you're still you."
"I'm going to leave you here."
"No you won't. You love me."
Wolfen didn't answer. But he didn't disagree either.
They walked into the forest, leaving the destruction behind, following the trail of a queen who had become a monster and a family that refused to give up on her.
---
Miles away, Lena moved through the trees like a ghost, her eyes fixed on the ground, following a trail that only she could see. The footprints were clear now—a group of them, moving fast, carrying something heavy.
Carrying someone heavy.
Her hands tightened on the katana.
I'm coming, Jordan. Just hold on.
The forest swallowed her whole.