Approval.
Quiet. Measured. Real.
Rendel’s gaze lingered on Keegan just a second longer before he gave a small nod.
“Then act on it,” he said.
Twobble clapped his hands once, the sound just loud enough to break the edge of the moment. “Finally. Direction.”
A few of the orcs shifted, some of the tension easing from their shoulders as the focus returned to movement instead of stillness.
Nova turned back to me. “If we’re doing this, we need to move soon.”
“I know,” I said.
Stella adjusted the edge of her sleeve. “And quietly. The more we stand here, the more attention we draw.”
Twobble nodded seriously. “Subtle. I can do subtle.”
“You can try,” I said.
I let out a small breath and looked at all of them again.
The orcs.
The shifters.
The Silver Wolf.
Rendel.
Keegan.
All of us standing here, on the edge of something that felt bigger than just a plan, bigger than just a next step.
This wasn’t just about the stone anymore.
It wasn’t just about Gideon.
Or Skonk.
Or even my mom.
It was all of it.
And it was moving faster than I would have liked.
“I’ll go through the UnderLoom,” I said, more firmly now.
Twobble straightened. “Excellent decision-making.”
Keegan didn’t argue this time, but I felt his hand brush mine again like he needed to make sure I was still right there.
“I’ll be with you.”
“Rendel and I will be atop with the shifters,” the Silver Wolf said.
I nodded. “Agreed.”
