After giving themselves a short moment to breathe, Liam, Asher, and Celia began making their way back toward Veyrhold.
They did not run this time.
The three of them were still in Eldervale, which meant safety was only ever a temporary assumption waiting to be punished, but rushing through the forest without a confirmed threat in front of them would only waste the strength they had left. They had been moving, fighting, climbing, and escaping for hours. Running simply because the task was finished would leave them more exhausted when a real reason to run appeared. So they walked at a steady pace, alert without being frantic, fast enough to cover ground and slow enough to keep their breathing under control.
