The doors of the villa burst open the mont system's notification ended.
"Grace!"
Davian's voice cracked the stillness like thunder. He sprinted toward her and she imdiately noticed that he was barefoot. His hair was ssy from sleep, or the lack of it, and panic was etched deep into his face.
Right behind him was Dr. Kian, and he was looking no better than Davian. His usually pristine composure was nowhere in sight as he too made his way toward her.
"Where the hell have you been?" Davian demanded. He was nearly out of breath as he caught her in a hug so fierce it almost knocked her backward. "It's been two weeks, Grace. We thought-" His voice broke off and his grip tightened.
"We thought we lost you," Dr. Kian said hoarsely as he ca up from behind and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her in just as tightly.
Grace let herself lt into their warmth while the reality of the last few days crashed down on her all at once. "I'm sorry," she murmured against Davian's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. We couldn't contact Earth… we had to keep everything hidden. It wasn't safe."
Dr. Kian pulled back slightly, his eyes flickering over her as if searching for injury. "Are you hurt? Are you okay? Rune?"
That's when their eyes fell on him. He was standing just a few feet away with his cloak gone and his real features visible under the soft moonlight.
"Rune," Davian breathed.
"Good to see you too," Rune said with an exhausted smile making its way to his lips.
The three n embraced tightly, each holding on like the other might disappear if they let go. There were no words, just emotion, heavy and overwhelming, pulsing in the cool night air.
It wasn't until they pulled back and took a look around, did both Dr. Kian and Davian realized they weren't alone.
Six gaunt figures were standing quietly at the edge of the front garden, half-shadowed in the warm glow spilling from the villa doorway. Their clothes were torn, skin bruised and scarred, eyes hollow and distant like they hadn't yet returned to reality.
"Rune…" Dr. Kian's gaze turned. "Who are they?"
"My team," Rune replied softly. "Or what's left of them."
Grace whispered softly. "They were imprisoned for eleven years."
Silence fell like a hamr. No one questioned anything. No one asked how or why... not yet.
Instead, Davian stepped aside, and Dr. Kian's doctor instincts took over. "Bring them in. All of them."
* * *
The night was long and filled with quiet labor.
The six warriors - Kael, Mira, Asher, Dain, Elandra, and Thorne - were guided inside the Villa. There were three bathrooms in the house, so it allowed three people to shower at one ti. Rune stayed with the other three who were resting in the living room.
Grace got busy as she prepared fresh clothes, razors, trimrs, toiletries, house slippers, and other necessities for them.
Davian, on the other hand, busied himself in the kitchen to prepare food. And as for Dr. Kian, he took his ti to examine each of the six in turn and infused their bodies with his gentle healing power.
It was already half past three in the morning when they arrived back on Earth, and by the ti everyone was showered, looking clean and much healthier because of Dr. Kian's help, it was already dawn and the outside world was turning brighter.
And most importantly, the breakfast was ready with over twenty types of dishes waiting to be devoured.
"Are you even human?" Rune asked as he took in the amount of food Davian had cooked mostly on his won except for a little bit of Grace's help here and there.
"It's nothing much. Let's bring them to the dining table." Even after all the work, Davian didn't look tired. Instead, he was looking way more energetic than he had in the past two weeks.
The breakfast table was silent at first, broken only by the soft clinks of cutlery and the rustle of the wind.
Finally, Mira spoke in a raspy but steady voice. "We didn't think we would ever breathe free air again... or eat sothing as delicious as this."
"You are safe now," Grace replied gently. "You are on Earth. You are out of the organization's reach."
Elandra looked at Rune and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. "Why didn't you co back sooner?"
Grace's gaze shifted to Rune and she noticed how his hands trembled in the slightest around his cup. The last thing she wanted was for Rune to feel responsible for what happened to his team, not like he had nothing to do with it, but he still didn't have to go through that self blaming phase.
"After Master's death, there were people after ..." He began softly, "... I had no other choice but to flee from the realm and sohow I ended up on Earth and continued to hide here. But within months, the only portal linking Earth to outside world disappeared, cutting off my only way back ho... and to you guys. Besides, I thought that going back to you will only put you guys in danger..."
He trailed off after that, and Grace felt her heart aching at his clear pain. He was trying so hard to appear calm and normal in front of his team, but she could tell that he was hurting badly from deep within.
The silence lasted for a few long monts before Asher asked, "What happened to your master?"
Rune took in a deep breath before he told them about his Master's murder, the jade ring, and how there were people out there still searching for him and the ring.
Then ca the real introductions as Rune introduced Grace, Davian, and Dr. Kian to the six and vice versa, following with the update on Earth's current situation.
And then ca the other side of the story.
Kael spoke first, his voice bitter and pained. "We got your ssage, Rune. About your Master's death. And we didn't hesitate. We moved out imdiately to reach you. But before we even left the outer zones… they ca."
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