Leo was never quiet. Not when they were children darting through the halls, not when he was sneaking into the kitchens at midnight, not even when his pranks earned him hours of scolding from their parents. Silence simply didn’t fit him.
Which was why Celeste noticed immediately.
She sat between her brothers, Calix leaning against the far wall with his arms folded like a sentry, and Leo on the couch at her side, unusually subdued. His dark eyes studied her face as though trying to solve a riddle, but his mouth, always quick with a laugh or a biting remark, stayed shut.
“Leo,” Celeste said softly, nudging him with her elbow. “You’re scaring me. You’ve never been this quiet in your life.”
That broke him. He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “I was just thinking… Our little sister, the
