Ava kept her gaze lowered as they walked. The daylight revealed more than she wanted it to.

  Her armor was smeared with drying blood, some Sable’s, some not. Mud had crusted along her boots and thighs, and one shoulder plate hung slightly crooked from where she had struck the tree. Her sleeve was torn open, fabric stiff and dark around the bite. The ribbon she had used on Sable left faint streaks of blood across her forearm.

  Her knuckles were raw. Her lip was split. A bruise darkened along her jaw where Anthony had redirected her strike.

  Her hair hung heavy down her back, tangled and matted with rain and debris. Strands clung to her face.

  She flexed her right hand again.

  The numbness still lingered from her wrist into her palm, dull and stubborn.

  It was not pain,it was worse. She rolled her shoulder and felt the deep ache settle into the bone.

  He had been stronger.

  She knew that.

  And she hated it.

  A shout cut through her thoughts.

  “Stop right there.”

  Ava lifted her chin as they approached the gates.

  Ace and Baxter kept walking, each with a firm grip on Kyo as they moved him forward. A guard waved them through without hesitation.

  Kyo twisted in their hold. “She’s with us. What are you doing?”

  “Move it along, kid,” the guard snapped. “Rules are rules. She’s a red. Why are you even traveling with a red player?”

  “Because she’s our friend. Let her go,” Kyo shot back.

  Ace leaned close and hissed under his breath, “Shut up. They have to do this.”

  Kyo looked at him in disbelief before glancing back as two guards began circling Ava.

  One of them tilted his head, studying her armor and the dried blood.

  “Looks like you’ve been busy, red,” he said. He reached up and tipped her chin with two fingers, forcing her face upward to inspect the bruise along her jaw. “Whatever poor bastard you killed didn’t go down without a fight.”

  His mouth curved into something ugly. “It’s people like you that make my job worth it.”

  The other guard, who had remained silent, stepped in and unhooked her axe from her belt without asking.

  Ava bit the inside of her lip. If she said anything, it would only make it worse. They had a world to save, even if some of it did not deserve saving.

  “Looks like you struck a nerve, Morg,” the silent guard said as he examined her weapon.

  Morg laughed. “Don’t worry, Pete. I’m good at putting reds in their place.”

  He leaned closer to her ear. “Especially the bitches.”

  Ava kept her expression flat, though heat crawled up her neck.

  “Hand over the rest of your weapons,” Pete said evenly. “Unless you want us to find them ourselves.”

  Ava detached her sheathed short sword and handed it over. Then she pulled the small dagger from her boot and passed it to him as well.

  She looked at Morg steadily. “Can I go now?”

  Morg laughed outright. “You’ve never been to Umbra before, have you, sweetheart?”

  His gaze dropped to her armor.

  “Take it off.”

  Ava jerked back when Pete reached for her.

  “What the hell? Don’t touch me. How is this even allowed?”

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  Morg’s hand clamped down on her shoulder, fingers digging in hard. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You choose.”

  Ava tore her shoulder free and held his gaze.

  “Fine.”

  She reached for the clasps.

  Piece by piece, she removed the armor.

  Shoulder plate. Chest guard. Bracers.

  Metal struck the ground in dull thuds as the guards gathered each piece.

  When she finished, she stood in her torn tunic, leather shorts, and boots. Mud streaked her legs. Blood darkened the fabric at her sleeve. Bruises were now fully visible, spreading along her ribs and collarbone.

  She glanced toward her party.

  Baxter had one hand clamped firmly over Kyo’s mouth while Kyo struggled against him, fire burning in his eyes. His jaw flexed beneath Baxter’s grip.

  Ava kept her chin up.

  The guards circled once more, satisfied she had been stripped of anything usable.

  Morg smirked. “See? Wasn’t so hard.”

  Ava met his gaze steadily. “Is that all, or can I go?”

  Morg’s smile turned slow and ugly as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought it closer, inhaling. “Well, if you want to take off more, I won’t stop you.”

  Before Ava could respond, a younger guard stepped forward, clearly uncomfortable. “You only need to remove armor and surrender weapons. She’s permitted to keep her clothing.”

  Morg exhaled sharply in irritation and shoved Ava forward. “Move.”

  He turned on the trainee, already snapping under his breath as she passed through the gate.

  Ava walked forward without looking back.

  Her armor and weapons remained behind in the guards’ possession.

  Once inside, she wrapped her arms around herself briefly before letting them fall, steadying her breathing. She looked toward her party.

  Baxter’s expression was tight. Ace’s jaw was set. Kyo stood rigid, still partially restrained, his jaw clenched so hard it looked painful.

  Their eyes met for the briefest second.

  She looked away first.

  “Let’s go,” she said evenly. “We need to find a healer.”

  Inside the gates, the city was already stirring. Merchants lifted shutters. Cook fires crackled. Early travelers moved along the road, offering quick, cautious glances at unfamiliar faces before looking away.

  Baxter adjusted Miles against his chest and started forward.

  Ace fell into step beside Baxter, carrying Sable carefully.

  Kyo walked on his own now, unsteady but refusing Baxter’s support. Broderick remained coiled around his shoulders and neck like an ornamental familiar, compact and discreet. From a distance, he appeared harmless.

  They moved deeper into the street.

  Behind them, the guards’ laughter dissolved into the growing hum of the city.

  For several paces, no one spoke.

  Then, in a low voice only Kyo could hear, Broderick said, “Your heart rate remains elevated. Stress markers are high.”

  There was a brief pause.

  “Ava’s stress levels are similarly elevated.”

  Kyo did not answer, but he glanced sideways at her.

  She walked straight ahead, posture steady, shoulders squared despite the torn tunic and visible bruises. She looked like she belonged there, like nothing had happened.

  But Kyo saw it now. The slight rigidity in her jaw. The careful way she held her injured wrist still at her side.

  He swallowed and quickened his pace to catch up with her.

  “Ava.”

  She slowed and turned slightly toward him.

  Without overthinking it, he pulled off his still-damp cloak and draped it over her shoulders in one smooth motion, covering her. The fabric settled around her frame, dark and heavy.

  Ava blinked in surprise, finally looking directly at him.

  “Here,” he said quietly. “I know it’s not your armor. Or your axe.”

  His hand lingered just long enough to pull the fabric closed at her collar.

  “But it might help you feel less exposed.”

  Her breath caught faintly at the contact. “Thank you,” she said, voice softer than before. “I really appreciate it.”

  She turned forward again, though her heartbeat had picked up.

  Ahead of them, Ace and Baxter stepped toward a healer’s shop.

  “Just stay out here,” Ace called over his shoulder. “We’ve got this, you two lovebirds.”

  Both Kyo and Ava looked away at the same time.

  Ace laughed under his breath and followed Baxter inside. The two of them pushed through the door.

  A small bell chimed overhead.

  The door shut.

  The street noise seemed louder afterward.

  Kyo and Ava remained outside.

  She stood a few paces from the entrance, facing forward. Merchants called out to passing customers. Carts rolled over uneven stone. Somewhere nearby, metal rang against metal from a smith’s hammer.

  And suddenly, there was nothing between them but open air and everything they were not saying.

  Her fingers came up slowly, gripping the edge of the cloak as if testing its weight.

  Broderick shifted slightly around Kyo’s shoulders.

  “Ava’s stress markers have decreased significantly,” he said evenly. “However, her heart rate remains elevated. She may be ill.”

  Kyo exhaled. “Broderick, buddy… you’ve got to stop scanning everything.”

  Broderick tilted his head at him, optics narrowing slightly as if recalibrating.

  Around them, merchants subtly shifted their carts to the opposite side of the road. A pair of early travelers lowered their voices as they passed. No one stared openly, but no one came near either.

  Red names carried weight.

  And Ava’s burned above her like a warning.