Dawn crawled over the hills like a reluctant thing, pale and tentative. It spilled first over the jagged rocks and splintered trees, then onto the broken stone of the city below. Smoke still drifted from the wards that hadn't held through the collapse; faint fires glimmered in alleys like wounded eyes. The world smelled of wet stone and ash, of blood and earth, of things torn apart and somehow surviving.

I stayed crouched on the hill's edge, knees drawn up, watching the city. My shoulder burned every time I shifted, and my ribs protested each shallow breath. The debris of last night's collapse still littered the outskirts—chunks of masonry scattered across the lower wards, watermarks tracing the paths the black tide had clawed through. For the first time in hours, the world felt silent—but it was the kind of silence that pressed at the ears, that carried a warning.

Sarah still held my arm, though loosely now, her armor scraped and dented, dried blood streaking the metal plates. Her eyes never left mine, sharp and calculating even in relief. Sophia crouched beside me, staff planted firmly in the dirt, fingers trailing faint, glowing sigils across the stone. Mona stood a few paces back, gaze scanning the horizon, lips tight, eyes narrowed.

And above all, there was silence. Not peace—never peace—but a fragile, uneasy truce between the city and the chaos that had tried to swallow it.

I flexed my shoulder carefully. Every joint screamed, but nothing was broken. Mostly. My hand brushed the dirt and rubble, feeling the faint tremor of the earth beneath us. Not the tremor of the city waking, not the minor aftershocks of stone settling—but something older, heavier, deeper.

"You feel that?" Mona asked, voice low, careful, almost reverent.

I tilted my head, listening. "The city's sleeping," I said.

"No," she said, crouching, hand pressing flat against the stone. "The city's listening."

I frowned. "Listening for what?"

Her gaze stayed on the ground. "Her next move. She doesn't strike blindly. Never blindly. She learns, adapts, waits."

I exhaled slowly. Even after Veyra was gone, even after the black tide had failed, even after we had survived—it wasn't over. The Empress never lost control. If anything, this defeat would sharpen her, make her plan cleaner, smarter, more lethal.

Sarah leaned closer, voice barely above a whisper. "Do we stay here? Or… do we go back?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. Let her think we're done. Let her think she's won. We need eyes on her, on the palace, on the water. She will test the city again, and I want to be ready."

Sophia's fingers traced lines of green fire in the dirt, sigils that appeared and vanished as if the ground itself inhaled and exhaled. "The wards held. Barely. But they're weakened now. If she strikes again, she'll know exactly where to hit."

I closed my eyes, trying to stretch my lungs fully, trying to make my own body believe it could still move. "Then we need to move first."

Mona's gaze shot up to mine, sharp and unwavering. "We move fast. Hidden. And if she tries something—anything—we strike first. Hard. Without hesitation."

A tense silence fell. But it was different now—not the heavy, suffocating silence of near-death, but the electric pause of minds sharpening for the hunt.

I looked back at the city, sprawling and wounded. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys, children's cries pierced the morning air, merchants set up stalls despite the chaos, stubborn as weeds. Life refused to be drowned, refused to stop.

I flexed my hand around the hilt of my knife. The Black River wound below the lower wards, calm now, a mirror to the pale sky. But I noticed subtle ripples, moving upstream in ways they shouldn't. The water shifted as if aware, restless—echoes of the black tide still whispering through its depths.

I swallowed hard. "She's already testing us," I muttered.

Mona's lips pressed together, jaw tight. "Then we'll test her back."

Sarah touched my shoulder, a brief grounding weight. "First things first. Check the river. See what's leaving the city, what's arriving. I'll scout the streets. Sophia, reinforce what you can, quietly—without alerting her."

Sophia gave a faint nod, hands already glowing with green wards that shimmered along the edges of the city. "I'll hold it," she said softly. "But she'll feel me. The pulse of the wards is too strong to hide entirely. We just need to buy time."

Mona adjusted the hood over her head, eyes narrowing as she scanned the far hills. "High grounds for me. The moment she makes a move, I'll see it. Nothing gets past me this time."

I swallowed. "And I'll… see what's left of the Sigil Gate. If any of it survived Veyra's collapse, we can use it." My stomach tightened at the thought. Last night, the Sigil Gate had been both weapon and threat—a mass of broken stone and splintered magic, capable of devouring lives, capable of shielding us, capable of failing spectacularly. But if I could piece together even a fragment…

Sarah tilted her head. "You really want to touch that thing again?"

I smirked faintly, grim. "It touches me first."

The four of us moved out together, careful, quiet, shadows against the dim light of dawn. Every broken branch, every stone, every rustle in the grass was a potential signal, a warning. My body ached, my muscles protested each step, but I moved. We all moved, each heartbeat a quiet drumbeat of defiance.

Below, the city woke slowly. Smoke rose in ribbons, banners flapped in the wind, and the distant cries of children mixed with the clang of hammer on metal, merchants preparing for a day that should never have come. The world kept turning, indifferent.

I paused at the edge of the hill, looking down at the river. Last night, it had been alive with rage, with intent, with the darkness of the Empress's will. Now it was just water. But the ripples were subtle, restless—like a predator circling.

I swallowed again, a lump rising in my throat. "She's not done."

Mona's gaze met mine, steel-hard. "Then neither are we."

And for the first time since the collapse, I felt it—the faint spark of hope. Fragile, dangerous, yet real.

Because we weren't just survivors anymore. Not after last night.

We were hunters.

And the hunt had only just begun.

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