*The weeping valley — just before dawn*
The sky was coloured, caught between night and the low light of dawn.
Crystal crouched near the broken glyph-stones, her fingers trembling slightly as she traced the cracks left behind.
The heat in her mark had dulled but it still lingered.
Behind her, the Starblood warriors moved in silence. Their gazes moved toward the valley and away again, like even looking at the glyphs too long might invite something watching back. No one spoke of Elira.
Not yet.
Ryder stood a short distance away, his back to her, flanked by Luca and two of his scouts.
His arms were crossed, his posture tense. Not even the rising wind seemed to disturb him.
Ethan approached from behind, crouching beside her, careful not to step on the glyphs.
“She shook you,” he said
