We made it only as far as the frozen shore before our legs gave out.
The ice behind us was still cracked and dark where the rift had closed. The wind moved across the open lake without carrying any of the old pressure. No voices followed us. No residual weight pressed against the back of the neck. The world simply felt empty in a way it had not felt for a long time.
I sat down hard on a flat slab of stone near the water's edge. Elizabeth dropped beside me a moment later. Vale stayed on her feet a little longer, scanning the ridges, then lowered herself onto a nearby rock with a slow, careful movement that showed how much the fight had taken from her. Seraphina helped Lydia sit and then sat herself, elbows on her knees, head bowed. Feng Lan walked a few steps away from the rest of us and stood with her back turned, both arms wrapped around her middle.
No one spoke.
