Mira’s POV

The air smelled different out here, like everything had teeth. Kael stood three feet from me, adjusting his worn-out leather pack. It was an effort at disguising, but it worked: rough clothes. He bore a stubbled jaw. The posture of someone who’d learned how to look down on. Anyone else would’ve walked past without a second glance.

But I’d know him blind. “Ready?” he asked, voice careful. Everything between us was careful now. I touched the false papers Marcus had given ...