I stopped at the door when Aria’s voice broke the silence.
“He’s inside,” she said softly, her eyes darting toward the room. “Go in, Kael… see for yourself.”
Her tone carried a heaviness that I couldn’t ignore. My chest tightened, but I pushed the door open anyway.
The creak was soft, almost too soft against the sound that greeted me—
the faint clatter of small plastic pieces.
Liam.
He sat on the floor, legs crossed, completely absorbed in the toy scattered before him. Blocks. Soldiers. A battlefield of his own making.
He didn’t look up. Didn’t even flinch when I entered.
For a long moment, I just stood there, watching him.
How calm he looked, how *focused*. The world could’ve been burning outside and Liam would still be sitting there, fitting the last piece of his miniature war t
