They moved immediately after the confrontation.
Lucian did not slow or look back. The direction changed without discussion, and Julian followed without questioning it because the meaning was already clear. Whatever structure had been holding things together before had been broken, and staying still was no longer an option.
Rebecca kept pace beside them. Her attention had shifted, no longer scanning ahead but tracking something that did not remain fixed. Julian noticed the change in her focus, but he did not interrupt. There was nothing to ask that had not already been answered by what they had just seen.
Lucian led them to a location he had already decided on.
Julian recognized that from the way he moved. This was not a random choice. It was a fallback, something prepared in advance, something that was supposed to remain untouched even if everything else failed.
That alone made it important.
They reached it without resistance.
