The three figures stepped out of the mist, and the crowd collectively stiffened. The torches around the campfire flickered as if in recognition of the shadows that had arrived, stretching their light toward the newcomers. The clapping, slow and deliberate, ceased, but the echo of it lingered in the heavy air.
Tyron’s chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, his bloodied body tense, his fists ready. But then, as the light fell across the face of the one in the center, Tyron froze. His breath hitched. His eyes widened.
“Rekkan…”
The name left his lips almost in disbelief, almost in relief. The stern face of his old friend stood before him, his sharp eyes gleaming in the firelight. To Rekkan’s left stood Coren, solid and dependable as always, his gaze calm but his lips twitching with the f
