The distant figure continued their approach at an entirely ordinary pace, and it was precisely that ordinariness that unsettled Sarya more than any dramatic entrance could have.
No supernatural light accompanied their walk. No parting of grass or bending of trees, no sense of the Garden bracing itself for arrival the way it had for her, all those days ago. They simply walked, the way a person walks toward a destination they've already visited before, unhurried and certain.
Sarya turned to Elias, expecting him to fill the silence with recognition.
He said nothing.
"You know them," she said finally.
"I know what they mean," Elias answered.
