The drive to the council chambers felt different without him.
Cole drove. Sera sat in the passenger seat, watching the territory pass, feeling the bond's distance grow by degrees — not the sharp reduction of the ridge, something gentler, more like a sound getting quieter as you walked away from its source. By the time they reached the eastern district, the bond was a low warm hum at the edge of her awareness rather than a constant presence.
She missed it more than she'd expected to.
"You're quiet," Cole said. He didn't look over — Cole rarely looked over while driving, his attention split with engineering precision between the road and whatever else needed it.
"I'm fine," Sera said.
"I didn't ask if you were fine," Cole said. "I said you're quiet."
Sera held that.
"It's strange," sh
