She felt the bond strengthen from twenty minutes out.
Not suddenly — gradually, the way it had faded on the way there, except in reverse. Cole drove, and Sera watched the territory become familiar again, and felt the warmth build with every mile, until by the time the compound's gate came into view the bond was running at its full three-frequency strength, bright and close and entirely present.
Rowan's thread reached for her before the car had fully stopped.
Not the alarm. Not the wondering sound. Something Sera had never felt before — a kind of eager brightness, the bond equivalent of a child running toward a door.
Darius was at the gate.
Not waiting formally — he had Rowan in his arms, and the moment the car stopped he was already moving, and Sera was out of the car and across the d
