The gate to Tron slowly opened, revealing the stone courtyard covered in the pale morning light. The torches were still burning, and the air carried the smell of iron and rain. Aurora took a deep breath. After days surrounded by salt and wind, the weight of the solid earth felt strange, almost suffocating.

Muriel dismounted first.

His body was rigid, his heavy cloak still dripping.

“I need a meeting with the other elders immediately,” he said, without looking at ...