They were in a perimeter compound.
No towers. No walls. Just modular bunkers, rows of vehicle shells, and two comm towers with blinking lights tracing a rhythm too fast for normal use.
Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Signal masking.'
The wind bit across his cheek, not cold, but sharp. The scent of sand and exhaust.
A base, not a prison.
And not temporary.
The guard ahead turned once. Motioned with his chin. Merlin followed.
To the left, another building.
Smaller.
Not a barracks.
Not medical.
The kind of room built to store things too inconvenient to keep near anything sensitive.
He was brought to the threshold.
The door opened.
Inside, concrete flooring, metal benches bolted to the walls, one low light strip overhead.
And five faces.
Mae. Dion. Seraphina. Elara. Nathan.
No one spoke when he entered.
He stepped in.
The guards closed the door behind him.
Still, no one moved.
Merlin's eyes went to each of them in sequence.
