Gabriel's eyes opened.

The sky came into focus slowly, branches overhead shifting in a breeze he couldn't feel. Everything hurt. His ribs, his shoulder, the places where his skin had split and bled. The pain was constant, grounding him to the present in a way nothing else could.

A hand pressed against his shoulder, firm but careful. "Don't."

Mera's voice.

Gabriel's head turned slightly, the motion pulling at something torn in his neck. She knelt beside him, dirt smudged across her jaw and throat.

He stared at her for a long moment, something cold settling in his chest that had nothing to do with the wounds covering his body.

She'd been at the apothecary.

The Order had been there.

He'd left her alive.

That didn't mean he trusted her.

He tried to speak, but his throat was raw, the words sticking before they could form properly.

"Water," Mera said, reaching for a canteen beside her knee.

She lifted his head just enough to let him drink, the liquid cool against his split lip. He managed two swallows before she pulled it away and lowered him back down.

His gaze drifted past her, scanning the clearing with slow, deliberate movements.

Tess sat against a tree, arms resting on her knees. Gilbert was slumped nearby, one hand pressed against his ribs. Ennu sat on a stone by the stream, staring at nothing.

Adan stood at the edge of the clearing, watching the horizon.

Gabriel's eyes moved back to Mera.

Then past her again.

Searching.

His breathing quickened despite the way it pulled at his broken ribs.

"Where's Hanitz?"

The question came out hoarse, barely audible.

No one answered immediately.

Tess looked away.

Mera's jaw tightened. She met his gaze, her voice steady when she spoke.

"He didn't make it out."

Gabriel didn't respond.

He stared up at the branches, his breathing shallow and controlled despite the way each pull of air tore at something inside him.

Hanitz is dead.

The giant who saved him from the snow. Who watched out for him when no one else did.

Dead.

Because I charged at Lucius like a fool.

The thought settled heavy in his chest, mixing with the pain until he couldn't separate one from the other.

He'd screamed his brother's name and thrown himself forward with everything he had left, and it hadn't mattered. The swords had shattered. The fog dissipated. Lucius had ended it in seconds, the same way he ended everything.

Four years.

Four years running, training, convincing himself he was getting stronger.

I wasn't.

Lucius didn't even move

Gabriel's hands tightened against the grass beneath him, fingers digging into the dirt. The rage was still there, buried under the exhaustion and the broken bones, waiting. It hadn't gone anywhere. It never did.

I will kill him.

The thought came clearly, calmly, like a fact he'd always known.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Maybe not for years.

But I will kill Lucius.

"Gabriel."

Mera's voice pulled him back.

He looked at her, his expression flat, unreadable.

She held a strip of cloth in her hands, already stained with blood. "I need to check your ribs again."

He didn't argue.

She leaned forward, her hands moving over his torso with efficiency, pressing carefully against the breaks she'd already cataloged. Her touch was light, methodical, but he saw the tension in her shoulders, the way she avoided looking at his face for too long.

The Order had found him in Eldenreach. They'd been waiting. Watching.

And Mera worked with them.

He hadn't forgotten that.

"How long was I out?" he asked quietly.

"Most of a day," Mera replied, not looking up. "We're a day from Galveston. Maybe less."

Gabriel's gaze shifted to the others. Tess still hadn't looked at him. Gilbert's face was bruised worse than he remembered, one eye swollen nearly shut. Ennu sat motionless by the stream, her arms wrapped around her knees.

They looked broken.

"Eldenreach?" he asked.

"Gone for us," Tess said flatly. "We can't go back."

Gabriel nodded once.

He hadn't expected to.

Mera finished wrapping his ribs and sat back, her hands resting in her lap. "You need to rest. We're not moving until tomorrow."

"I'm fine."

"You're not."

Gabriel met her eyes, a slight pulse passed through his irises. "I said I'm fine."

Mera's jaw tightened, but she didn't push. She stood slowly, wiping her hands on her cloak before walking toward the stream.

Gabriel watched her go, then let his head fall back against the grass.

The sky was still gray overhead, the light beginning to fade as evening approached.

Hanitz is dead.

Lucius is alive.

And I'm still breathing.

…

Gabriel's eyes opened again.

He hadn't realised they'd closed.

The clearing had darkened, the sun dipping lower beyond the trees as shadows stretched across the grass. The pain in his ribs had dulled to a constant ache, manageable if he didn't move.

Tess stood near the horses now, checking their legs one final time before nightfall. Gilbert had shifted against the tree, his breathing slower, heavier. Ennu remained by the stream, her posture unchanged.

Adan was still at the edge of the clearing. Watching

Gabriel's gaze drifted toward him, noting the tension in the guild assistant's shoulders, the way his hand rested near his weapon without gripping it.

The sound came from the trees to the north.

Rustling.

Not wind. Not an animal passing through.

Gabriel's body tensed instinctively, the motion pulling at his broken ribs hard enough to steal his breath. He forced himself still, listening.

The rustling stopped.

Then came the growl.

Low. Continuous. Rolling through the underbrush like a warning that didn't need words.

Tess's head snapped toward the sound, her hand moving to her sword. Gilbert pushed himself upright despite the pain written across his face. Ennu stood slowly, her eyes fixed on the treeline.

Mera turned from the stream, her body going rigid.

Adan didn't move. He simply stared into the darkening woods, his expression unreadable.

The growl continued, coming from something large enough that Gabriel could feel it in his chest.

"Everyone, stay still," Adan said quietly.

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