They really did arrive before dinner.
When Kael crossed the garden beside Sylphie, he found Seraphine sitting beneath the tree with an open book on her lap. The nameless man was near his own flowerbed, holding a small shovel, while the former Reference floated near the branches and watched two leaves brush against each other in the wind.
The man raised his head as soon as he saw them. "You're back," he said, setting the shovel beside the flowerbed. "This time you took less time."
"Because no one built another basement full of animals on the way back," Kael replied, approaching.
Umbra emerged from his shadow. "I looked."
Kael looked at her. "I know."
Seraphine closed the book over one finger to mark the page. "Did you find the person responsible?"
"We did," Kael replied, sitting on the bench. "The researcher who was buying the creatures was arrested. The ones still on the property survived."
"All of them?"
"The ones we found alive, yes."
