Caelan POV:
Night settles differently the next evening, the day having passed uneventfully in a way that feels welcome.
Nothing stirred at the borders, patrols rotated cleanly, the training fields emptied one by one, and the packhouse fell into that steady hum of normality.
I lean against the doorway between our room and the kitchen, watching Elara by the window with her phone pressed to her ear as she looks out across the dark grounds. Her voice is low and warm, threaded with familiarity rather than tension.
“—I know, Dad. Yes, it’s actually quiet here. No, I promise, if anything shifts you’ll hear it from me first.”
There’s a pause while he answers, and I don’t interrupt. She deserves that space, the chance to still be someone’s daughter, not only my Luna.
Velarys rises slowly at
