The car hummed low beneath them, its interior silent save for the soft glide of tires over stonework and the faint sound of filtered mana circulating through the engine core.
Damien sat in the passenger seat, posture relaxed but gaze focused out the window. Trees passed in long, blurred shadows—row after row of ancient-growth forest lining the route toward the teleportation gate. The estate grounds were vast. It would take another ten minutes just to reach the outer gate.
Dominic sat beside Damien, arms crossed loosely, eyes set forward with that same implacable calm. Two guards were seated further up in the cabin—one driving, the other silent, eyes always watching the rearview. The car was being handled manually, not through autopilot. A small detail, but deliberate. In transit like this, Dominic never left control to automation.
