The stone bridge groaned beneath their weight.
Each step sent small fragments of rock crumbling into the endless mist below. The narrow path stretched forward like a dying thread, disappearing into the pale silver fog that drifted through the deeper layers of the Veil.
No one spoke at first.
The thunder of battle behind them still echoed faintly across the fractured tier. Every roar from the Hunter and every answering growl from the Veilborn rolled through the mist like distant storms.
But those sounds were already fading.
They were leaving that battlefield behind.
Aria ran beside Kael, her breathing uneven, the anchored fire inside her chest still pulsing in restless waves. The embers were not calm, not after what had just happened.
Something had changed.
She could feel it.
The f
