POV: Riley
The silence after battle is always the loudest.
It pressed in on me from every direction as healers rushed through the shattered courtyard, carrying the wounded, whispering spells, calling names. The scent of smoke clung to everything. Blood stained the stone. Shadow-ash drifted like black snow across the ruins.
And beneath it all—
Fear.
I stood frozen where the fight had ended, one hand still lifted from casting, the other trembling against my abdomen. I hadn’t even realized I’d moved it there during the battle. My body had acted on instinct alone.
The baby stirred.
Not gently.
Not like before.
A sharp pulse of energy rolled through me, hot and bright, so sudden it stole my breath. My knees buckled.
“Riley!” Mason reached me first, catching me before I hit the ground.
