We led Edrin back to where Tomas's body rested, at the entrance of the hall just before the chamber where the Bonebound Sentinel had fallen apart for good. The air there was colder than the rest of the passage, not as heavy as the chamber itself, but still thick with the aftermath of what had happened. Blood had dried dark against the stone. Bone fragments lay scattered farther in, no longer moving, no longer threatening, just proof of what it had taken to get this far.
Edrin slowed the moment he saw Tomas again.
He did not kneel this time. He simply stood there for a long second, jaw clenched, eyes fixed on the still form of the man who had kept us alive longer than any of us had a right to expect. Then he turned to me.
"We wait here," Edrin said, voice steady but rough around the edges. "Lyra will return with reinforcements. We recover his body properly. We don't move deeper unless Prince Valeyn authorized."
I shook my head.
