The walk back to the palace was quiet.
Far too quiet.
Even Andre wasn't talking.
Which was honestly more unsettling than the dead officer.
Kai glanced at him.
"You've been silent for ten minutes."
Andre shrugged.
"Thinking."
Kai stopped walking.
"You're what?"
"Thinking."
Kai stared.
Andre stared back.
"What?"
"I didn't know you could do that."
"Go fuck yourself."
The brief exchange helped.
Only slightly.
---
The image of Captain Harlow still lingered in Kai's mind.
The crossbow bolt.
The perfect timing.
The impossible shot.
Someone had been watching.
Watching the cultists.
Watching Harlow.
Watching them.
Waiting for the exact moment to pull the trigger.
That thought bothered Kai more than anything else.
They had walked directly into someone else's plan.
And that someone had escaped.
---
Again.
By the time they reached the palace, night had fully fallen over Yggdrasil.
Guards immediately let them through.
The king was still awake.
Unsurprisingly.
Akshay sat behind a mountain of reports.
The moment he saw them, he frowned.
---
"You look terrible."
Andre pointed at Kai.
"He's emotional."
Kai ignored him.
"We found a traitor."
Akshay immediately stood.
The exhaustion vanished from his face.
"What?"
Kai explained everything.
---