The next day passed in a blur of preparation that left little room for the fear still coiled tight beneath every conversation, every strategy session, every careful review of the plan Mabel had spent weeks refining into something she believed might actually work.
Priya coordinated the positioning of Ashborn members around the quarry's perimeter, hidden well enough to remain unseen but close enough to respond within seconds if the binding circle failed to hold. Cole worked with his few remaining trusted contacts to confirm Callahan's expected arrival route, cross referencing every detail against patterns established during our earlier investigation. Mabel spent hours perfecting the circle itself, testing its boundaries with small measures of her own blood, adjusting symbols with a precisio
