The world woke slowly.
Sunrei stood at the prow of the ship, watching the first true sunrise paint the waves in gold and crimson. The brand on his wrist had faded to a pale scar, its light now woven into his bones, his blood no longer a weapon, but a quiet hum beneath his skin.
Kaelis joined him, her knives clean for the first time in memory. You're brooding.
He smiled. Just thinking.
Behind them, Liri slept curled against the mast, her silver hair streaked with gold where the First Brand's power had touched her. Ryna's crew moved quietly, their tattooed arms bare to the morning light no longer glowing, no longer bound.
The sea stretched endlessly ahead.
For the first time in a thousand lifetimes
The path was theirs to choose.
The shore looked different in daylight.
The black sand had lightened to soft gray, the ruins overtaken by creeping vines and wildflowers. Survivors moved through the broken city, not rebuilding reclaiming.
A child ran past, laughing, her wrists unmarked.
Sunrei's breath caught.
Kaelis nudged him. Getting sentimental?
He didn't answer.
Some wounds ran too deep for words.
Night fell gently.
They gathered around a fire on the beach Sunrei, Kaelis, Liri, Ryna. The flames painted their faces in gold and shadow, the stars brighter than any of them remembered.
Ryna poked the fire with a stick. What now?
Liri stirred the embers. We live.
Kaelis tested a knife's edge. And if the brands return?
Sunrei touched his scar. They won't.
Not as they were.
Not as chains.
The power remained, but the cycle was broken.
That was enough.
Dawn found Sunrei walking the shoreline alone.
The waves lapped at his boots, cool and constant. Somewhere behind him, Kaelis trained new recruits not warriors, but guardians. Liri spoke with survivors, her voice steady, her hands unshaking.
Normalcy.
Peace.
A gift he'd never thought to earn.
A hand touched his shoulder.
Liri smiled up at him, her eyes clear. Come on. They're waiting.
Sunrei took one last look at the horizon.
Then he turned toward the light.