The cavern roof thinned above Hajin as bearers lowered his stretcher, and stars showed through a crack where rock belonged. That opening widened while the broken avenue loosened at its edges, and damp grass brushed the fingers beside his blanket.
His left hand closed around a fistful of wet stems instead of another chunk of broken stone.
'Grass, actual grass, if this is a hallucination then somebody give it a medal.'
The Gate's folds slid away from the wagons, and rubble sank beneath the wheels without swallowing anyone crouched beside them. Seret raised a hand to stop a soldier as the last shifting edge crossed the clearing and left plain meadow.
The mountain wind reached them before anybody could decide what to call this homecoming.
Hajin coughed as cold air filled his chest, and the bearers lifted again, keeping his splint clear of their grips. Juna stalked beside that arm like a guard dog while Vella spread a blanket against the boulder under a tree.
