The Covenant stronghold had burned.
Three hours there by rift passage and ground transport, twenty minutes to breach their wards, another ten to eliminate everyone inside and destroy the facility so thoroughly that nothing would ever grow there again.
Efficient.
Clinical.
Satisfying in a way that felt both right and wrong…my mother's killers were gone, but the hollow space where grief should have resolved still sat in my chest like unfinished business.
We were standing in the parking area where we'd left the SUV, early morning light turning the Swiss Alps pink and gold, and I was trying to figure out what the hell we were supposed to do now.
Azryth's hand found my waist, steady and grounding, and through the binding I felt his understanding. He knew what I was feeling, the completion that didn't quite feel like closure, the satisfaction mixed with hollow grief.
"We should do something," Mara said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Everyone looked at her.
