The house was in chaos.
They both moved around it with sharp, efficient motions, grabbing only what mattered, and ignoring everything else—no matter how tempting they might be.
Jay shouldered his pack with a grunt.
"Tell me we didn't wait too long."
Ryn didn't answer.
He was already moving for the door.
They burst back outside.
The wind hit them first, stronger than before. The Hero's Isle was still shifting, its course no longer subtle. Stone groaned beneath their feet as the landmass adjusted.
Ryn skidded to a stop at the edge of the terrace.
Jay followed—and cursed.
The clouds below had torn wide open.
Lumen lay exposed beneath them, closer now, the bright skyline stark against the morning sun. But Ryn's eyes locked onto something else immediately.
The platform.
It was already halfway up.
Ryn's jaw tightened.
"It should have been lower," he said. "We lost time."
Jay looked toward the distant green canopy of the Forest Isles.
"If we run—"
