The van hummed along the highway, grey morning light filtering through the tinted windows. Inside, Ashen Dawn sat in their usual configuration—Cora up front next to the driver (a silent Ashen Guard operative who hadn't spoken a word since they left), Mason by the side door with his arms crossed, Sera in the back scrolling through her phone, and Derek wedged between her and a stack of supply crates.
Lucian sat across from Derek, watching the landscape change. City gave way to suburbs. Suburbs gave way to fields. Fields gave way to forest, dense and dark, the trees pressing close to the road like they wanted to reach out and touch the glass.
"Greyhollow," the driver said, the first word he'd spoken in an hour. "Five minutes."
Cora stretched her arms above her head. "About time. My legs are falling asleep."
"Your legs are always falling asleep," Sera said without looking up from her phone.
"Because I'm always sitting next to you, and you take up all the room."
"I'm compact."
