The wind pulled at their coats, thick with grit and heat. Wrye and Darius stood just a few paces apart, their bodies tense, like two wolves sizing each other for dominance. Neither moved, but the air between them thrummed with silent warning.
Darius's hand hovered near his weapon while Wrye's gauntleted hands crackled faintly with energy.
Auri stepped forward before it could spiral. He came out from behind Darius and planted himself between them. He could see it in their eyes—the weight of experience, suspicion sharpened by instinct.
"Stop it," Auri said, his voice louder than expected. "Both of you."
Wrye turned his gaze to him.
"Darius is not an enemy, Wrye. Calm down."
"Calm down? You vanished for a day and a half," Wrye snapped, voice low but sharp. "No message. No trace. Do you have any idea how worried the kid was? How worried I was?"
