Chapter 14
Sunlight poured through the kitchen windows of the Atler household, casting warm golden rays across the worn wooden table. The aroma of fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls filled the air, wrapping the cozy cottage nestled just outside the edge of Black Hollow’s dense woods in a comforting embrace.
Lena sat at the table, her dark hair tousled from sleep, a steaming mug cradled between her hands. She watched her younger sister, Sage, who was meticulously swirling thick white icing over a cinnamon bun, her tongue poking out in concentration.
“You’re going to drown that thing,” Lena teased with a smirk, gently nudging Sage’s foot under the table.
Sage shot her a playful glare, sticking out her tongue. “It’s called flavor. You wouldn’t understand.”
Rose Atler, their mother, turned f
