By the time the sun slid behind the ridge, the cold had teeth.
Aria spent the afternoon doing nothing that counted as work and everything that counted as existing: walking the loop again, hovering near the training ring long enough to watch a few drills, helping Lena carry in wood when the other woman shoved an extra armload at her with a casual, “You’ve got hands, use them.”
No duties, just like Rowan had promised. But she didn’t know how to stay useless either.
When the first stars pricked through the darkening sky, someone lit the big bonfire in the center of the clearing. A rush of sparks, a bloom of orange, and wolves began to drift out of their houses in twos and threes, drawn to the heat.
“We do food outside when the weather behaves,” Lena said, bumping Aria’s shoulder as she pa
