The celebration had wound down.
Ken was passed out against a broken pillar, snoring loud enough to echo off the ruins. Angel had draped a blanket over him—the first soft thing any of them had touched in days. Mob stood guard nearby, not because anyone asked, but because that's what he did.
Dera was tending to her knives, methodical, quiet. Vina sat beside her, head on Dera's shoulder, eyes half-closed. Rey was nowhere to be seen, but his shadow still moved at the edges of the firelight.
Remu had fallen asleep where she sat, the empty bottle still in her hand. Ella had covered her with her own jacket before walking away.
No one said anything about it.
Lucifer stood at the edge of the camp, facing the direction of the vampire gate. The portal still hummed in the distance, stable now, waiting.
He turned to face his friends.
"I'm leaving."
Ken snorted awake. "What?"
"The vampire realm. I need to go back. There's work to do."
