Vivienne finally exhaled. "You don't even know where he went."
"We know enough to try."
"And if you die?"
Nathan smiled faintly. "That'd be really inconvenient."
"Don't be cute."
"I'm not," he said. "I'm serious. I know this is reckless. I know it's dangerous. But I also know one thing."
He stepped closer.
"He would've done the same for any of us."
That stopped her.
Just for a moment.
Vivienne looked away. Her arms dropped to her sides. The hum of the leyline crystal filled the room again.
"…There's a rift echo," she said finally. "Buried in the leyline signature. Faint. But someone used it to jump through a tether without the system stabilizing first."
"Can we trace it?" Elara asked.
"Yes," Vivienne said. "But if you open that echo again… it won't be like before. The gate won't protect you. It'll spit you out wherever the tether stretched last. And you'll be alone."
Nathan's heart stilled.
Then he grinned.
"Good," he said. "I'm used to starting at a disadvantage."
