Kieran reached the edge of Elderwood territory just as the sun dipped behind the ridge, turning the sky a bruised violet. He hit the breaks harder than he meant to, his every movement fueled by grief, guilt, and the fading echo of Aqua’s scent.
He kept up his slow driving pace until the familiar outline of home appeared.
Cherry sat on the porch swing under the lantern glow, a book open in her lap.
She wasn’t crying.
She wasn’t pacing.
She wasn’t angry.
She wasn’t even waiting.
She looked… distant. Like she’d drifted somewhere far away.
Kieran pulled into the dirt driveway, opened the truck door slowly, and forced himself up the steps.
Cherry stood, leaving her book on the table.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
“You’re back,” she said quietly.
“Yeah.”
Her eye
