_Rowena’s POV_
Kasper arrived in eighteen minutes.
That was fast enough that he had clearly been closer than the estate when I called, which meant he had not gone home after dropping me off and had instead positioned himself within response distance without telling me. I filed that away, equal parts irritating and something I was grateful in ways I wasn’t going to say out loud.
He came through the fire door with four people I recognized as Ashthorne security and two I didn’t, who had the quiet competence of professionals Kasper had sourced from somewhere and vetted personally.
The eight people I had freed were sitting along the far wall, wrapped in the emergency blankets someone had thought to bring. Three of them were strong enough to be alert and talking. Two were in the da
