The road stretched wide and empty as the sun rose higher.
Grayhaven faded behind them, stone walls becoming memory.
Lira walked quietly, the bundle of supplies resting against her back.
"It feels strange," she said at last.
"Leaving when everything is about to happen."
Kael felt her doubt through the bond.
We're not leaving the fight, his intent replied. We're changing where it begins.
The Seer led the way, staff tapping softly against the ground.
"Our first destination is not marked on any map," he said.
"A place the Empire pretends doesn't exist."
Lira frowned.
"Why?"
"Because pretending is easier than admitting fear," the Seer answered.
By midday, the land grew rougher.
Dry ground.
Cracked stone.
Old paths half-buried by time.
Lira suddenly slowed.
"Kael… do you feel that?"
He did.
A faint tug.
Not hostile.
Familiar.
Another bond, his intent answered.
The Seer stopped.
"Good. They're close."
They crested a low ridge and saw smoke rising from a small camp below.
Three tents.
A dying fire.
And two figures standing apart from the rest.
Lira's heart beat faster.
"They're bonded," she whispered.
Fear rolled off them—thick and sharp.
As Kael and Lira approached, the bonded pair reacted instantly.
Weapons raised.
Bodies tense.
"Don't come closer," the woman shouted.
Kael stopped where he was.
He didn't raise a weapon.
He didn't speak.
Lira stepped forward slowly.
"We're not here to take anything," she said.
"We're like you."
The man scoffed.
"Everyone says that."
Lira felt Kael's intent move through the bond.
She let it flow outward.
Calm.
Balance.
Truth.
The woman froze.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"You… feel steady," she said quietly.
The Seer stepped into view.
"They survived the heir's champion," he said.
"And they stood before him openly."
Silence fell.
The man lowered his weapon first.
"You should've run," he muttered.
Lira shook her head.
"We tried. It didn't work."
The woman studied them closely.
"And now?"
Lira met her gaze.
"Now we find each other."
The fear in the camp didn't vanish.
But it shifted.
Into something fragile.
Hope.
Kael felt the bond between the two strangers stir—uncertain, but listening.
The Seer nodded to himself.
"The first thread is always the hardest," he said.
Lira looked around the small camp.
Dust.
Hunger.
Waiting.
She understood then.
This wasn't about gathering fighters.
It was about reminding people they weren't alone.
Kael felt her realization and agreed.
Threads become rope, his intent flowed. Rope becomes strength.
As the sun dipped lower, the camp fire was fed again.
Words were exchanged.
Stories shared.
And somewhere far away
The heir felt a disturbance.
Small.
Easy to dismiss.
But it lingered.
Because bonds
Once they began to connect
Did not stop at borders.