The gates rose out of the night like giants, their towering iron frame shadowed yet unmistakable. For Belle, it felt as though they had been driving toward them for eternity, chasing safety that always seemed one heartbeat too far. And then—finally, mercifully—they were there.
The colossal doors swung wide as though salvation itself had been standing vigil, waiting for their arrival. The convoy surged forward, engines roaring like wounded beasts finding shelter at last, pouring into the sanctuary of Knight’s territory. The moment the first wheel crossed the threshold, relief swept over the fleet—not loud, not triumphant, but like a shuddering breath no one dared release until now. Even the battered engines seemed to ease, their thunder softening as though exhaustion had finally caught up
