[VOLUME 15: THE PRIMORDIAL PILGRIMAGE][ARC 3: THE RIVER OF FLOWING SAND]
The camp they made beyond the shores of the Dead Waters was quiet, but it was a heavy, exhausted sort of quiet.
Shahen, the newly restored celestial general, had immediately taken up a post at the perimeter. He stood like a silent, bronze statue, his silver eyes scanning the darkness, an immovable shield guarding his new Queen. Even Wukong had been subdued, the Stone Sovereign uncharacteristically quiet as he sat on a boulder, chewing on a piece of sweetgrass and watching Shahen with a mixture of begrudging respect and chaotic curiosity.
Elara retreated to the enchanted silk pavilion Li had erected.
The moment the heavy velvet flaps closed behind her, cutting off the sight of the primordial wilderness, the adrenaline that had been sustaining her for weeks simply evaporated.
She didn't make it to the plush bed in the center of the tent. Her knees gave out, and she sank onto the thick, fur-lined rugs.
