They rode before dawn.
Vaelor had them up and moving while the sky was still dark at the edges, the camp packed with the efficiency of people who had done it many times and knew how to go from sleeping to gone in under twenty minutes.
The twins dressed without complaint, which told Aelara more about how seriously they were taking this than anything they could have said.
Caelum had his coat buttoned to the top.
Lyra had her hair back, properly done, and Aelara knew she had done it herself in the dark without a mirror because there hadn't been time for anything else and Lyra had the kind of self-possession that meant she did not need a mirror to know where she stood.
