“What’s going on?”
“We stopping already?”
“Is something wrong?”
I pace once, hands in my hair, trying to think. The raven shifts on my shoulder, wings rustling softly.
Then I turn and face them.
Mo’s already walking over, Jace right behind him. Thane and Stellan flank me without being asked. Gray, Rhett, Wes, and Theo emerge from the vehicles nearby, forming a loose circle.
“We can’t take this many people on the highway,” I say, voice steady even though my pulse isn’t. “Someone’s going to notice. There’ll be drones, checkpoints, news coverage—we’ll be front page by sunrise.”
Mo crosses his arms, considering. “You’re not wrong. But you’re also not turning back.”
“No.” I shake my head. “We split up.”
Silence. Then murmurs ripple through the crowd.
“Groups of five or six,” I continue, louder now. “Take different routes. Avoid main roads. Meet at—” I pause, looking at Thane.
He steps forward. “The boundary markers. Stone pillars with old Scarborne sigils—about an hour out. That’s the sanctuary border.” He checks his phone, scrolling before reading off coordinates. “Forty-three point two-one north, eighty-eight point four-seven west. Follow those, you’ll find them.”
Stellan nods. “Five, maybe six hours if the road stays clear. Gives us time to regroup before we move in.”
“Donotcross the border,” I add. “Pull over and wait near the treeline until everyone’s accounted for. No lights once you leave the main road. No magic use unless absolutely necessary. If anyone’s stopped or questioned, you’re running charity supplies or doing a delivery route. Nothing more.”
Wes steps forward. “And if someone doesn’t make it?”
“Then we go without them,” I say quietly. “But we don’t wait. We can’t.”
The weight of that settles over the group like fog.
Jace breaks it with a half-grin. “So much for the party.”
I almost smile. “The party’s still on. We’re just not giving the world an invitation.”
A few quiet laughs. Nods. The tension eases, just slightly.
Mo claps his hands once. “All right, you heard her. Group up, pick your routes, stay smart. Move out in five.”
The crowd scatters, voices rising again as people divide into smaller clusters. Engines start back up one by one, headlights flickering as vehicles peel away in different directions.
I watch the first group disappear into the darkness, taillights swallowed by the night.
Then the second. The third.
The road feels quieter now. Heavier.
Thane steps up beside me, hands in his pockets. “You’re learning what leadership costs.”
I don’t look at him. “Feels like I’m just learning how to breathe with it.”
He nods. “Good. Because this is only the beginning.”
I look toward the horizon where the sanctuary lies hidden in the distance, and I whisper, “Then let’s finish it.”
I climb back into the truck. Stellan starts the engine, and we pull back onto the road.
