*Flashback*
She didn't notice at first.
That was the thing about healing — it didn't announce itself. It didn't arrive with trumpets or ceremony or a moment you could point to and say *there, that's when it happened.* It crept in sideways, through the cracks, filling spaces she'd forgotten were empty.
She noticed on a Thursday.
She was sitting by the fire after evening drills, her legs stretched toward the heat, a cup of Maren's terrible pine-needle tea warming her hands. Maren was beside her, telling a story about the time Cade had tried to wrestle a bear and the bear had won — a story Aurelia had heard three times and that got more elaborate with each telling. Tomas was across the fire, shaking his head. Hale was laughing so hard he'd spilled his drink. The fire popped and sent a sho
