Eirene's voice cut through the leftover-scented air like a scalpel.
> "I have a plan."
All heads turned to her.
She wasn't smiling. Not even close.
She wasn't proud of what they'd done either—but the way Eucliea and Zorion had explained it? The care, the fear, the loyalty... it was enough. Enough to make her step in.
> "It's the only plan I can think of to keep you alive."
She wasn't bluffing. Her face said it all—this wouldn't be easy.
Zorion, ever the idiot with a grin, threw up a half-hearted peace sign.
> "We like the hard way anyway."
Eirene closed her eyes for half a second. Then sighed. Loudly.
> "Okay. Kids out." Her eyes flicked to Inaya. Then to Zorion—sharper, firmer. "Dont act stupid right now."
Inaya pouted. "I'm not a kid—"
> "No," Eirene repeated. "Go draw battle plans or something."
Eucliea stood, ushered Inaya out. Zorion followed with a salute that earned him a death-glare.
When the door shut, Eirene faced the others.
> "Listen. Do you guys have anyone back in Indra? Family? People who'll raise hell if you vanish?"
Zorion leaned against the wall, thinking.
> "I've got my mom. Granny. Warne."
Alethea nodded. "My parents."
Sathvic shrugged, gaze steady. "I was raised in an orphanage. So… no."
Eirene looked at him longer. Something clicked.
> "That explains your and Alethea's attachment to Inaya. "
She folded her arms.
> "Here's the truth: if you go out in public, or try to return to Indra now, you're done for. They'll be watching everything—stations, borders, bridges."
Beat.
> "Your only option is to stay here in Zaherra. For the whole year. Wait till the Equinox series is hosted by Indra next year. When the border opens again, I will help to get you across. By then the case'll be cold. Thousands of Zaherrans will go to Indra it will be easier for you guys to blend in."
Alethea's brows shot up. "A year?"
> "Yes. A year."
She held up a finger.
> "You want to check in with your people? Use the public Volva booth. Thousands do every day. It's untraceable."
Another finger.
> "Then turn off your Volva devices. Completely. No pings. No signals. No screw-ups."
Silence.
Then a low whistle from Sathvic.
> "Okay. Gotta admit... That actually sounds like a safe plan."
Eirene smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes.
> "Good. Because it's the only one you've got."
Zorion leaned forward, arms crossed lazily over the back of a wooden chair.
> "If you're helping us… why not just use your politician powers and get us out now?"
Eirene blinked at him. Once. Then squinted like he was the sun and she'd finally had enough of it.
> "Zorion. A politician isn't a god."
She took a breath, then stabbed the air with her words.
> "I can't snap my fingers and rewrite Zaherran law." "I can't pause the police while they check all the buses from Zaherra to Indra." "And after the Equinox series ends, there are zero official travel routes from Zaherra to Indra. None. Nada."
She threw her hands up.
> "What do you want me to do—grow wings and fly you there?"
Zorion muttered, "Would be cool…"
Eirene didn't laugh.
But Sathvic did. Dry. Controlled.
> "Ignore him," he said, adjusting his sleeves. "Your plan's the most reasonable thing I've heard since we got into this mess."
Eirene gave him a nod—quick, businesslike—but some of the edge in her voice softened.
> "Reasonable doesn't mean safe. It just means possible."
Alethea leaned on the windowsill, watching dust float in the golden sliver of late-morning sun.
> "So what now?"
Eirene stepped closer. Her tone dropped low—part plan, part warning.
> "Now… you just do as I say."
Three blinks.
She looked at Sathvic.
> "I'll find you a safer place to stay."
She looked at Alethea.
> "You'll have to tone down your fire. Blend in. Become invisible."
Then finally at Zorion.
> "And you—"
He perked up.
> "—will not flirt with anyone who has a badge, a uniform, or a clipboard. Understood?"
Zorion threw a hand on his chest, mock-wounded.
> "You think I'd risk it all over a pretty girl in a uniform?"
All three stared at him.
He looked away. "…Fair."