The first thing Lila noticed when she woke was the silence.
Not the comfortable quiet that had settled over the territory in recent days, but a deeper stillness. The kind that pressed gently against the ribs and asked a question without words.
She lay still, listening.
Caleb’s breathing was steady beside her, his arm curved around her in sleep. The baby shifted beneath her hand, slow and calm, as if sensing her attention.
We’re awake, the movement seemed to say. What now?
Lila smiled faintly.
Carefully, she slid out of bed, moving with the deliberate caution she had learned these past weeks. Her body felt heavier again this morning, but not in the fragile way that had frightened her before. This was different.
This was weight with purpose.
She wrapped a shawl around her shoulders a
