Sera's Pov
The facility looked different up close.
On the ridge it had been a collection of lit shapes in the dark, geometric and distant, something you could study and plan around. Up close, in the shadow of the east wall, it was something else. Cold stone. The kind of walls built to last because the things inside them were meant to be kept for a long time. The smell of something chemical came under the night air, faint but consistent, the antiseptic undertone of a place that was regularly cleaned because regular cleaning mattered for what it held.
I stayed close to Riven's shoulder as we moved along the east wall toward the building's side entrance, the two Northesk entry wolves ahead of us, reading the guard rotation, timing the gaps. Caden came behind me, silent, each step placed wi
