The night after the Host Commander's death was quieter than it had any right to be.
The ruins still smoked, and the ground still stank of ash and blood, but the husks were gone. Only the companions remained—five figures leaning against broken stone, alive when they should not have been.
Kael sat apart at first, his greatsword stabbed into the earth before him. The crimson aura that had consumed him during battle had long since faded, but its echo still weighed on his chest. He stared at the scar in the ground where the Commander's body had fallen, silent.
Aric plopped down beside him, tossing a pebble into the fire Seliora had conjured. "You really have a flair for the dramatic, don't you? Sovereign Rend. Gods above, I thought the mountain was going to split in half."
Kael's lips curved faintly, though his eyes stayed fixed on the flames. "It almost did."
Seliora, sitting across the fire, wrapped her cloak tighter. Her face was pale, though her voice was steady. "You shouldn't say it so lightly. That kind of power isn't… natural." She met Kael's gaze, unflinching. "It scares even me."
Kael didn't flinch, but he let the words linger. "Good. Fear keeps us alive."
Darius sat a little apart from the fire, mending the dents in his shield with quiet focus. "Fear does not keep us alive," he said gruffly. "Trust does. And we'll need more of it if worse is coming."
Silence stretched, broken only by the crackle of the fire. For the first time in days, they weren't fighting or running. They were simply breathing.
Finally, Aric leaned back on his elbows, eyes glinting with mischief despite the cuts across his cheek. "You know what we need?"
Seliora groaned. "If you say 'wine and tavern girls,' I'll throw you into the fire."
Aric grinned. "I was going to say food. But now that you mention—"
Darius picked up a loose stone and lobbed it at him. Aric laughed, ducking.
Kael let the sound settle into him. It was strange, hearing laughter after bloodshed. Strange, but… grounding.
"Food, then," Kael said, standing at last. "We'll eat. We'll rest. Tomorrow, we move."
Seliora raised a brow. "And where do we move, exactly? Half the region's in ruin, and we've drawn enough attention to wake gods that should have stayed sleeping."
Kael pulled his sword from the ground, sliding it onto his back. His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the firelight. "We move forward. Always forward."
The companions exchanged looks, weary but resolute. For tonight, the storm had passed. For tonight, they were still together.
And that was enough.