The fourth day arrived beneath a sky of dull grey and biting cold.
Aria opened her eyes long before sunrise. Beside her, Kael remained asleep, his breathing slow and even. Careful not to wake him, she slipped from the bedroll, wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders, and moved across the room to the grate where the night’s fire had faded into glowing coals. She dropped a piece of wood onto them. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then the embers slowly began to feed on it.
She lowered herself beside the hearth and watched the flames struggle back to life. The faint scent of woodsmoke lingered in the cool air.
The iron-coloured mark inside her chest rested there like a constant presence. Warm. Stable. Unchanged since the morning Morwen had placed the first fragment of the seal w
