Chapter 111: Way back home
The next day after the banquet party. The day was still early and dew drops still lingered on the leaves and rooftops.
Kaelen stood quietly beside Derek, Alira, and Neal. None of them said anything. They didn’t need to. The silence between them said more than any words could. There was nothing left to do here.
The backup epic-ranked awakeners had already departed, returning to their own territories, their own wars. There was no fanfare. No dramatic final salutes. Just brief nods and brisk parting words. Professionals knew not to linger where battle had passed.
Nearby, Princess Lyrissa stood surrounded by her guards. She approached slowly, her steps measured, not with royal pride, but genuine courtesy.
Derek was the first to offer a polite bow.
"We’ve overstayed our welcome."
"You’ve done more than enough," the princess said, her voice calm but filled with gratitude. "We won’t forget what your team did for us. Hather kingdom will forever remember this day."
Neal nodded quietly but said nothing.
Alira offered a slight curtsy. Kaelen, as always, kept his hands in his pockets and gave a half-smirk. "Take care of the survivors. That’s the real hard part."
The princess nodded. "We will."
A few steps behind her, Kaitlin and Sairi approached.
Sairi, ever the irreverent one, waved lazily. "Well, I’ll admit it, your team might be the only reason we’re not rebuilding this place from ash."