“I advised him not to.”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. The sound surprises both of us. The bond flares briefly, warm and bright.
We round the final bend of the tunnel a few minutes later, and I raise a hand. Everyone stops. The exit lies just beyond—a narrow arch leading into the outer drainage tunnels beneath the city wall.
I move forward alone. Lantern light flickers beyond the arch and my pulse jumps. For a moment, none of us moves.
The tunnel chamber is just wide enough for the lantern light to spread across the damp stone, turning the shallow canal water into a wavering sheet of copper reflections. Shanae stands just beyond the archway that marks the outer drainage tunnels, her posture relaxed but alert, shaped by years of living half a step ahead of danger.
She looks exactly like I remember her—tall, broad-shouldered, and solid in a way that makes most people instinctively assume she knows how to handle herself. Her dark skin catches the lantern glow, the long braids pulled back from her face revealing the keen intelligence in her eyes. Even in a damp tunnel under the city, she carries herself like a commander.
Not that she’d ever use that word.
Beside me, Varek’s reaction is immediate and unmistakable.
He goes still.
Not the controlled stillness he usually wears like armour, but something deeper—relief breaking through before he has time to hide it.
“Shanae.”
The sound of his voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it.
She grins. “Took you long enough, Commander.”
I glance between them. “All right,” I say, gesturing back towards the group behind us. “Reunion later. Let’s get these people moving before someone decides to patrol a tunnel for fun.”
Shanae steps aside slightly and gestures deeper into the drainage passage. A second figure waits there in the shadows—a Riftborn male with pale grey skin and eyes that reflect lantern light like glass, one of the regular contacts from Dathanor who meets the escape groups once they clear the city tunnels.
He nods when he sees me. “Route’s clear.”
“Good,” I say, turning back to the group. “All right, you’re with him now. He’ll take you the rest of the way out to the outer ridge, then on to the settlement.”
The parents exchange a look that’s half relief, half disbelief.
The human woman squeezes my hand briefly as she passes. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I say. “You still have a bit of walking to do.”
The boy pauses beside Varek. “You’re really the commander?”
Varek crouches so they’re eye level. “I am.”
The boy nods seriously. “I’m definitely going to be a warrior.”
A faint smile touches Varek’s mouth. “Then walk carefully and listen to your mother.”
The boy grins and hurries after the others.
Within a few moments, the small group disappears down the drainage passage with their guide, their lantern light shrinking until it vanishes around the bend that leads towards the outer valleys beyond the city.
Silence drapes over the tunnel, broken only by the distant drip of water somewhere in the dark.
Shanae steps forward. She doesn’t hesitate as she wraps Varek in an embrace that looks like it could crack ribs if she decided to squeeze harder.
For a split second, he looks startled. Then his arms close around her just as firmly.
I try not to react. Really I do. But watching someone hug Varek without hesitation—without worrying about horns or height or terrifying monster war commander energy—is… frustrating.
