“Your friends left these for you,” she said.
Tamsin set her bowl aside, wiped her hands on her trousers, and unfolded the first with care.
I watched her face as she read.
A smile tugged at her mouth, just a little.
She handed the page to Elias, then to me.
Tam—
We made it here without trouble. Mostly.
I may have briefly gotten into an argument with Magnus about whether stopping to help a stranded family was ‘on mission.’
I won.
Thorne backed me up, which shocked everyone, including Thorne.
We’re heading on like you said. After helping that family.
Be careful though. Don’t forget to eat. And if you get yourself killed, I will personally resurrect you just to kill you again.
—Zara
Nox barked a laugh. “That sounds exactly like her.”
Griff shook his head fondly. “Magnus never stood a chance.”
Tamsin’s expression softened, but she folded the letter neatly before opening the second.
This one made her exhale through her nose, but when she was done, she passed it around.
Tamsin,
Your instructions were clear. We followed them. Mostly.
Along the way, Jamie tried to leap over a fence, tripped over it, and blamed Declan for not warning him about gravity. Edward found a stash of old canned peaches and nearly had a coronary.
You were right about the route. About the timing. About all of it. We’re making better time than we planned, and nothing’s tried to kill us yet, which I’m counting as a personal favor from the universe.
Keep your head down and don’t be a martyr. We’ll see you again soon.
—Sera
Bishop smiled faintly. “That’s… unexpectedly gentle coming from her.”
“Don’t tell her you said that. She seems like the type to take offense to that,” Nox replied.
Tamsin held both letters for a moment, thumb smoothing the creases. When she looked up, her gaze flicked to each one of us in turn.
“We move at first light,” she announced.
“After getting some rest,” Eamon added pointedly.
Tamsin shot him a look. “I’m resting right now.”
“You’re eating,” he corrected. “That’s not the same.”
