By the time the capital walls came into view, Mordred had stopped arguing about whether he screamed.
Mostly because nobody was listening anymore.
The road had been quiet for the last stretch of the journey, with the eight of them spread loosely across it instead of marching in any particular formation. Their weapons were cleaned but still carried the marks of the fight, and dried dirt covered their boots and the lower parts of their clothes. Rain's shoulder had stopped bothering him after Mira finally checked it, though according to her, the only thing wrong with him had been his refusal to admit that getting hit by a Higher Demon hurt.
The afternoon sun sat above the capital walls as they approached. From a distance, the city looked almost unchanged from the one Elara remembered three years ago. The same pale stone stretched across the outer walls, banners moving above the towers while wagons waited in two lines outside the main gate. Merchants argued over inspection delays, travelers stood beside tired horses, and guards moved between them checking documents before allowing anyone through.
It was strange how easily a place could stay the same while the people inside it changed completely.
Their group didn't join the line.
One of the guards noticed them approaching and stepped forward, already raising a hand toward the others at the gate. Elara reached for the folded assignment paper inside her coat, but before she could pull it free, the man's eyes moved across the group and stopped.
"The Cinders?"
Kai made a quiet sound behind her.
Elara pretended not to hear it.
"Returning from the eastern road," she said.
The guard nodded immediately. "We were told to expect you."
"Already?"
"You've been gone since yesterday."
"That doesn't answer my question."
The man smiled. "Higher Demon corpses tend to make reports move faster."
Mordred straightened slightly.
Kai saw it. "Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
"I'm just standing."
"You are standing proudly."
"How does that even work?"
"Exactly like that."
The guard looked between them, clearly trying not to laugh, before stepping aside. "Welcome back."
They passed through the gate without another inspection.
Rain walked beside Elara as the noise of the capital surrounded them. The streets were crowded at this hour, wagons moving slowly between people while water ran through the narrow channels built along the sides of the avenues. Shops had their doors open, and the smell of bread drifted from somewhere nearby. After a day outside the walls, even the ordinary noise felt louder than Elara remembered.
They hadn't gone far before someone recognized them again.
Two younger soldiers were standing outside a supply building, both carrying wooden practice weapons. One looked toward the group, said something quietly to the other, and both immediately stopped talking.
Rain noticed.
He leaned closer to Elara. "They're staring at us."
"I noticed."
"Should we stare back?"
"No."
Rain looked directly at them.
Elara caught the back of his sleeve and pulled him forward.
"What?"
"You know what."
"I was just being friendly."
"You didn't even smile at them, you're just staring."
"I was about to."
Behind them, one of the younger soldiers whispered something.
Mordred turned his head.
Both recruits immediately looked somewhere else.
Mordred grinned. "I like this."
"Of course you do," Zedric said.
"What? Three years ago nobody knew who we were."
"Three years ago you would've challenged both of them."
"I wouldn't challenge a recruits."
Kai looked at him. "You challenged a cook once."
"He insulted my sword."
"He said it was blocking the doorway."
"Same thing."
Stephen sighed. "How did this conversation survive three years?"
"Commitment," Rain said.
That got a laugh from Mira, and even Lin smiled as they continued through the city.
Elara didn't say anything.
She remembered when entering the capital had felt overwhelming. She and Rain had once walked these streets staring at everything around them because neither of them had seen a city this large before. Back then, nobody knew their names. They had been two fourteen-year-olds carrying whatever remained of their lives into a place they didn't understand.
Now soldiers stepped aside for them.
It wasn't rank that did it. Elara knew people above them who received less attention.
It was recognition.
She wasn't sure she liked that part.
The lodge came into view several minutes later.
That had changed less than anything else.
Same stone building. Same wide entrance. Same yard behind it. Even the damage along one corner of the outer wall was still visible from where someone had misjudged a resonance exercise nearly two years ago.
Mordred had insisted it wasn't him.
Nobody believed him.
The moment they entered, a voice called from the desk near the wall.
"You're late."
Rain looked toward the clock.
"No, we're not."
Lieutenant Kael stood near the far side of the room with several papers in one hand. His hair had grown slightly longer over the years, though everything else about him seemed determined to resist change. His uniform was still properly arranged, his posture still straight, and his expression still carried the same permanent suggestion that somebody nearby had done something incorrectly.
His eyes swept across all eight of them, lingering just long enough to make it clear he was counting.
Then they landed on Rain.
"Did I say you were late?"
Rain blinked. "No."
"Then why did you answer?"
Rain turned his head toward Elara.
She didn't even look back.
Traitor, his expression said.
Elara kept walking.
Kael set the papers down on the desk with precise care. "Report room. Ten minutes."
Mordred glanced down at himself. "Can we at least wash first?"
"Nine minutes."
"That wasn't what I—"
"Eight."
Zedric caught Mordred by the shoulder and steered him toward the corridor.
"Move."
"I hate when he does that."
"You've had three years to learn."
"And somehow I haven't."
Kael watched them go, then shifted his attention back to Elara.
Elara confirmed that the Higher Demon was dead. When asked about casualties, she reported that there were none, and that the injuries sustained were only minor.
Kael looked toward Rain's shoulder.
Rain slowly lowered the hand he'd started rubbing it with.
"Very minor," Elara added.
Kael's expression didn't change. "Nine minutes."
Rain waited until they were farther down the corridor.
"He definitely does that on purpose."
"Yes."
"You're supposed to disagree."
"I've known him as long as you have."
Ten minutes later, all eight of them were seated around the long table in the report room.
They had managed to clean the worst of the dirt from themselves, though Mordred's hair was still damp where he'd apparently poured half a basin over his head. Kai had taken the chair farthest from him for exactly that reason.
Kael stood at the end of the table.
A map of the eastern road had already been spread in front of him.
"Start from contact."
Elara did.
The report itself was simple. Their assignment had been to clear a demon force moving too close to one of the trade roads east of the capital. Scouts had identified Lesser Demons in the area and later confirmed the presence of a Higher Demon directing them. The Cinders had intercepted the group before it reached the road.
Nothing about the assignment had been unusual.
Nothing had gone particularly wrong.
Three years ago, that alone would have sounded impossible.
Elara explained how they divided the Lesser Demons first, preventing the Higher Demon from using them to pressure the group while they fought it. Lin and Stephen controlled the center. Kai and Zedric kept the smaller demons from regrouping. Mira stayed mobile rather than remaining behind them, moving wherever support was needed. Mordred forced openings when the Higher Demon committed too heavily to one side.
Kael listened without interrupting.
When she reached the final exchange, his eyes shifted toward Rain.
"You met it directly," Kael said, his gaze fixed on Rain as if trying to measure exactly how far that decision had gone beyond acceptable risk.
Rain leaned back slightly in his chair, resting his weight into it as though the question itself didn't carry much pressure. "For a second, yes," he answered more calmly than the situation probably deserved, his tone suggesting it had been brief enough not to matter in the way Kael clearly thought it did.
"Why?" Kael pressed, not softening the question in the slightest.
"I wanted to see if I could hold it on my own for a moment without immediately relying on someone else to step in," Rain replied, his voice steady and matter-of-fact, as if he were describing something as simple as testing a blade's balance rather than standing in front of a Higher Demon.
"You already know how strong a Higher Demon is," Kael said, his expression tightening slightly as he followed the logic he clearly didn't approve of.
"I know how strong the last one was, and I needed to confirm whether I could still match that level of pressure without hesitation," Rain answered, his words coming out more deliberate now, as if he was making sure every part of his reasoning was clearly understood.
"And if this one had been stronger?" Kael asked, his tone sharpening just enough to make the question feel heavier than the others.
"I would've adjusted immediately and disengaged the moment I felt the difference, instead of trying to force something that wasn't there," Rain said, his voice lowering slightly as he clarified it, as though the answer had always been obvious to him.
Kael stared at him for a long moment, completely unreadable.
Rain added after a brief pause, "Quickly enough that it wouldn't have put anyone else in danger, at least not more than necessary."
Nobody spoke for a moment after that.
Kael's eyes shifted from Rain to Elara, slow and deliberate, as though the next answer mattered just as much as the first.
She already knew what was coming before he even asked.
"You allowed it?" Kael said, his attention now fully on her.
"I was already moving in the moment I saw him step forward, and I was prepared to intervene the instant the situation shifted beyond what he could handle," Elara replied, her voice firm but controlled, as if she had already replayed the entire moment enough times to justify every second of it.
"That wasn't the question," Kael said flatly, not accepting the framing.
"No," she answered after a short pause, her tone quieter now but still certain.
Rain turned his head slightly toward her, a faint, almost incredulous expression forming as he let out a short breath. "Wow," he said, the word carrying more disbelief than actual accusation, as if he had just realized how differently the moment had been interpreted from her side.
Elara continued. "But I knew what he was doing, and Stephen was close enough to cover him if he failed."
Kael's attention returned to Rain.
"So you turned an active engagement into a strength test."
"When you say it like that, it sounds irresponsible."
"It was irresponsible."
Kai lowered his head toward the table.
His shoulders moved once.
Kael noticed.
"Something funny?"
"No."
Kai immediately became very interested in the map.
Elara had to press her lips together.
Three years ago, sitting across from Kael during a report had been enough to make most of them nervous.
Now this was normal.
Kael eventually continued through the rest of the report, asking each of them questions individually rather than allowing Elara to answer everything. Stephen explained the defensive positioning. Mira described how much resonance she'd spent treating injuries. Lin identified where the Lesser Demons had attempted to regroup. Kai gave the cleanest description of their movement patterns, which earned him a brief nod from Kael. Zedric and Mordred disagreed over exactly how far Mordred had been pushed during one exchange until Kael told both of them that the distance was irrelevant.
Nobody mentioned the scream.
Elara considered that an impressive act of collective discipline.
When the report ended, Kael gathered the papers in front of him but didn't dismiss them.
Instead, he pulled another sheet from beneath the map.
"I have your assignments for the next several days."
Mordred leaned back. "Already?"
"You're soldiers."
"We killed a Higher Demon this morning."
"And?"
"And I thought that was worth at least one day where nobody asks me to do anything."
Mordred looked toward Zedric. "Why do I keep coming back here?"
"Free food."
Kael ignored them.
"Stephen and Mira, medical escort tomorrow morning. The southern barracks are moving wounded back into the city."
Mira nodded. Stephen did the same.
"Lin, you're assisting the weapons instructors in the lower yard."
Lin looked mildly surprised but didn't object.
"Kai. Zedric. Mordred. Western wall rotation."
Kai frowned. "With both of them?"
"Yes."
Mordred smiled. "We're going to have fun."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
Kael turned to Elara.
"You're with me tomorrow. You've been leading field operations for over two years. They want your assessment of several units being considered for reassignment."
Mordred gave a low whistle.
Elara looked at him.
He stopped.
"Understood," she said.
Then Kael looked down at the last name on the page.
"Rain."
Rain had been tipping his chair backward.
He let it fall onto all four legs.
"Yeah?"
"You leave tomorrow afternoon for a temporary field assignment. It might take four days, possibly five, depending on travel. You'll be joining Captain Varen's unit, which is leaving through the northern gate."
There was nothing particularly unusual about it. Rain had been assigned outside the Cinders before. All of them had, at one point or another, though his happened more often. He adapted quickly to unfamiliar groups, and unlike Mordred, he could usually survive several days around strangers without starting an argument.
Still, Elara found herself asking, "Why only Rain?"
Kael looked at her.
Kael tapped one finger against the table. "The unit needs another close-range fighter with experience against Higher-class command structures. Rain has it."
"So do I," Elara said.
Kael didn't look up from the papers. "You're required here."
Elara frowned slightly. " What about Kai and Zerdic?"
"Elara."
She stopped.
Kael's voice wasn't harsh, which somehow made the point clearer.
"This isn't the first time I've assigned one of you elsewhere."
Elara frowned. "I know, but—"
Kael cut her off immediately. "Then don't make it different because it's him."
The words landed harder than Elara expected; she looked at Rain, who had finally looked up from the paper, and for half a second their eyes met before he smiled.
"It's only five days."
"I know I heard him," Elara said
"You're looking at me like I'm being sent across the continent," Rain said sarcastically
Elara: "I'm looking at you normally."
Rain: "No, you're doing the thing."
Elara frowned. "What thing?"
Rain narrowed his eyes slightly and copied her expression. "This."
Mira laughed. Elara just kept staring at him for a moment longer, and Rain immediately stopped, raising his hands slightly in surrender.
Kael exhaled through his nose and gathered the remaining papers.
"Everyone except Elara and Rain, dismissed."
The others stood.
Mordred was first through the door, already asking Zedric whether western wall duty technically counted as rest if nothing attacked them. Kai followed solely to explain why that was the stupidest thing he'd heard all day. Stephen and Mira left together, while Lin paused long enough to tell Rain he'd see him before he left tomorrow.
Then the door closed.
Kael looked between Rain and Elara.
"The two of you have been doing this long enough that I shouldn't need to say it, but apparently I do."
Elara tilted his head. "Doing what?"
"Acting like every separate assignment requires negotiation," Kael continued before either of them could start. "You're not fourteen anymore. You're going to work with other units, receive different assignments, and eventually some of those assignments will last longer than five days."
Neither answered.
That part was true.
Elara knew it.
For three years, the eight of them had remained close largely because their effectiveness together made separating them unnecessarily foolish. But the stronger they became, the more useful each of them became individually. Mira could support wounded soldiers who had never met the Cinders. Lin could teach. Elara could advise other leaders. Rain could be dropped into an unfamiliar group and adapt before most people learned everyone's names.
That didn't mean she had to like every part of it.
Kael looked at Rain. "Captain Varen leaves at two tomorrow. Don't make him wait."
Rain said, "I won't."
They were dismissed.
Outside the room, Elara and Rain walked down the corridor together. They reached the end of the corridor where evening light came through the open doorway leading toward the yard. Several younger recruits were still training outside, wooden weapons striking against one another while an instructor shouted corrections.
For a moment, they watched—three years ago, that had been them, not exactly, but close enough.
Rain folded the paper and slipped it into his coat. "You worried?"
Elara didn't answer immediately, just looked at him the way she did when she was trying to decide whether he was being honest or just difficult on purpose.
Rain tilted his head. "What?"
"Who is Captain Varen?"
He blinked once. "There it is."
Elara narrowed her eyes. "Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"That thing where you act like I'm predictable."
Rain sighed, shifting his weight. "I've never met him or seen him fight."
"Then why are you acting like it doesn't matter?"
"Because it doesn't—" he started, then stopped when he saw her expression change slightly. Not angry. Just… sharper.
He corrected himself. "It doesn't matter to me. I'm not going alone into a demon nest. I'm joining a unit. That's it."
Elara held his gaze. "You said that about the last temporary assignment."
"And it was fine."
"That's not the point."
Rain rubbed the back of his neck, then let his hand drop. "Okay. Then what's the point?"
That made her pause.
Elara finally answered, quieter. "You don't care who you're placed with anymore."
Rain frowned slightly. "That's not true."
"It is," she said, and this time there was no accusation in it. Just observation.
He didn't deny it immediately.
That silence said more than anything else.
Rain looked away first, toward the training yard outside the corridor where wooden blades cracked against each other in uneven rhythm. "It's not that I don't care," he said after a moment. "It's just… I can handle it."
Elara watched him for a second longer than necessary. Then she stepped forward again, and he fell into step beside her without thinking.
For a while, they just walked. The noise of the yard filled the space between them—shouting instructors, the dull thud of practice strikes.