Marcus's boots struck the dusty ground of the tomb with a dull thud as he stumbled forward, the swirling light of the portal still rippling behind him. He barely had time to adjust to the present before hands caught his shoulders—Borik's thick fingers gripping one side, and Jason's nervous palms patting the other.
"He's back!" Eleanor gasped from where she stood guard beside the portal. Her sword was already half-drawn, instincts honed from battle never quite letting her relax, not even for a second.
Marcus straightened, brushing off their touches and shaking his head. "I'm fine. I did it. He took the pendant…. It's done."
"You saw him?" Sophia's voice cracked as she stepped forward, her blue eyes wide with an urgency that hadn't left them since Marcus disappeared. "You actually saw Liam?"
