The ravine felt less empty now.
The younger pair sat on the stone, breathing easier, though fear still lingered in their eyes.
Lira crouched in front of them.
"What are your names?" she asked gently.
The girl hesitated, then spoke.
"I'm Sera."
The boy swallowed.
"Jon."
Kael felt their bond—thin, strained, but intact.
They've been running hard, his intent noted.
The Seer nodded.
"Too hard, for too long."
Sera hugged her knees.
"They took our village," she said quietly.
"Everyone who was bonded… disappeared."
Lira's chest tightened.
"We heard stories like that," she said.
"They're real."
Jon looked up sharply.
"You're not lying?"
Kael met his gaze.
Silent.
Steady.
Jon felt it and looked away.
Lira continued.
"You don't have to follow us," she said.
"But you don't have to hide alone either."
Sera exchanged a look with Jon.
"If we move with you," Sera asked,
"will they find us faster?"
The Seer answered honestly.
"Yes."
Silence fell again.
Lira didn't rush it.
Then Jon spoke.
"But if we stay alone… they'll find us anyway."
Lira nodded.
"That's the truth."
Kael felt their decision forming before they said it.
They're tired of being scared.
Sera stood slowly.
"We'll walk with you," she said.
"For now."
Lira smiled softly.
"That's enough."
They didn't make camp long.
Movement was safer.
As they walked, Lira felt something change again.
The bond wasn't just stretching outward now.
It was… mapping.
She stopped.
"Kael… I can feel lines. Between us and them."
He felt it too.
The network is forming.
The Seer looked uneasy.
"This will draw attention," he said.
"More than before."
Lira nodded.
"I know."
She wasn't afraid.
Not anymore.
By sunset, they reached higher ground.
From there, the land spread wide.
Roads.
Rivers.
Paths old and new.
Lira felt it clearly now.
They weren't gathering people.
They were connecting them.
And somewhere beyond the horizon.
The heir felt the pull turn sharp.
Not annoyance.
Alarm.
Because what formed quietly in the dust.
Was no longer a rumor.
It was structure.
And once a net begins to close
Even emperors feel it.