The bus rattled over the final stretch of road into Ashbourne, and Mira watched the familiar landscape blur past her window. Six months in the Outlands had changed her—her skin was sun-darkened, her frame leaner, and something in her eyes had hardened into quiet steel.
Her phone buzzed. Another message from Kieran. She swiped it away without reading and opened her calendar instead. December 25th. Elder Caspian Ravencrest's birthday celebration tomorrow. She deleted the reminder with one decisive tap.
Then she paused. Tomorrow was also her father's birthday.
When had she stopped celebrating it? When had the Ravencrest obligations consumed everything, even the people who'd loved her first?
Mira pulled out her phone and texted her mother: Coming home tonight. Stay up for me?
