"Give me that bracelet, Richard."
My voice cuts through the nursery before anyone else can speak. Dust hangs in the weak morning light. The blue cloth in Richard's hand looks older than all of us. Worn. Faded. Soft from being folded and hidden and touched too many times by hands that had no right to it.
Richard lifts the bracelet a little higher instead of lowering it. "You should be more careful what you ask for, Elara."
Julian moves first. He steps in front of me so fast it almost feels like instinct. "You heard her."
Elias comes to my other side a second later. The motion is smaller, quieter, but I notice it anyway. So does Richard. His mouth shifts in a way that says he hates seeing us stand together more than he hates being cornered.
Nathaniel takes one step closer and shines his
