The tension doesn’t leave after they vanish. I don’t move, listening to the quiet, to the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears. Beside me, Maya lets out a long breath.

“They left. What does it mean?”

I nod, not saying anything, because I don’t know what to tell her. It wasn’t a retreat, but a warning of what is to come.

The air feels heavier now, thick with the weight of everything left unsaid. I stare at the empty space where my father once stood, the echo of his words lingering in ...