A few hours later, the message reached Eis.

  She found Team Argent waiting, and together they turned toward the healer’s wing.

  The healer’s wing was quiet.

  Not peaceful—just quiet. That heavy kind of quiet before dawn, when the air feels thin and every whisper seems too loud. Lantern crystals glowed in soft blues along the corridor, washing the marble floors in pale light.

  Ronan pushed the door open, motioning for Eis to follow. Lira stayed close behind her, Kael silent but alert at the rear.

  Inside, the girl rested on a low cot, wrapped in warm blankets. The healers had cleaned her wounds; the angry red marks on her wrists were now faint lines. A stabilizing ward glowed above her chest, pulsing gently in time with her breath.

  Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of their footsteps.

  She focused first on Eis—hesitant, then relieved.

  “Thank…thank you.” she said weakly.

  Eis stepped forward, stopping at the foot of her cot.

  “Of course.”

  The girl swallowed, her gaze roaming across the group.

  Ronan kept his voice calm.

  “You’re safe now. No one from the Shallows can reach you here.”

  Kael leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

  “What’s your name?”

  The girl hesitated, then whispered:

  “Arin.”

  Lira crouched beside her, gentle and warm.

  “Arin, do you remember anything after Eis sent you ahead? Anything at all?”

  Arin’s eyes clouded.

  “I… I tried to reach the Guild. I used one of the cards—one that made a light appear when I touched the wall. But someone found me. A man. He grabbed me and—everything went dark. When I woke, I was in that cavern again.”

  Her voice trembled.

  Ronan’s jaw tightened.

  “That lines up with the tunnels we found.”

  She reached toward Eis weakly.

  “He said… you’d come back.”

  Eis’s expression didn’t change.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Rest,” she said. “You’re safe now.”

  Arin nodded once, gaze drifting as exhaustion pulled her under again.

  Lira stood slowly, wiping her palms on her trousers.

  “She’ll recover. Physically, at least.”

  A long silence settled over the group.

  Ronan waited until they were back in the corridor before he spoke.

  The moment the door closed behind them, Ronan’s entire posture changed—tension he’d been holding back finally finding shape.

  He turned to Eis fully.

  “Eis.”

  Not harsh, but firm. Deeper. The tone he used when giving orders on the field.

  “You went into the Shallows alone.”

  Lira stepped forward, voice softer but no less serious.

  “You scared us. All of us. We thought something happened to you.”

  Kael pushed off the wall, eyes sharper than usual.

  “And you didn’t leave a message. Didn’t tell anyone where you were going. Just disappeared.”

  Eis said nothing.

  Ronan exhaled slowly, trying not to let frustration win.

  “Listen—we’re not angry because you fought. We know you can handle yourself. We trust you. But trust goes both ways.”

  Silence.

  Lira shook her head, letting a tired, frustrated laugh escape.

  “You can’t just run off into the darkest part of the city because a problem appears. We’re your team, Eis. Your friends. We go together.”

  Kael’s voice dropped to something unusually earnest.

  “You’re not alone here. Stop acting like you are.”

  Eis met each of their gazes in turn—steady, unreadable.

  Ronan stepped closer, lowering his voice.

  “We could have lost you today. Something could have gone wrong and we wouldn’t even know you were in trouble.”

  He paused. “Don’t do that again.”

  For a long moment, Eis was completely still.

  Then she spoke, her tone even.

  “…If I waited, Arin would be dead.”

  “Then we’d have gone with you,” Ronan said immediately.

  Eis’s jaw tightened. A small, almost imperceptible shift.

  “But I didn’t know how long I had.”

  “Then wake us,” Lira insisted. “Shake us, throw water, kick the door—anything. Don’t make us find out through a trail of blood.”

  Kael added, quieter:

  “You’re part of this team. Whether you like it or not.”

  Another silence.

  Eis finally nodded once.

  Not surrender. Not agreement.

  But acknowledgment.

  Ronan let out a breath, relieved.

  “All right. We’ll talk plans later. For now… rest. All of us.”

  Kael smirked faintly.

  “Yeah, before she sneaks out again.”

  Lira elbowed him.

  Ronan clapped Eis lightly on the shoulder—firm, but not forceful.

  “We’re with you, Eis. Next time, don’t run ahead alone.”

  Eis didn’t argue.

  And for Team Argent—for now—that was enough.