Anna's comm device buzzed in her palm. Henri's voice crackled through, hurried and tense.
"You can come home now," he said, his words clipped, his tone urgent. "The Squidi are here. They arrived earlier than usual—looks like the fighting in the Central District drove them away. Until the war dies down, they'll be staying in the Stem." His voice dipped momentarily, muffled as though he was speaking to someone nearby. "Yeah, here," he muttered off-screen. The hum of a moving vehicle vibrated faintly in the background.
