CHAPTER 29:
Night fell soft and heavy over the valley, but the house never slept. Lantern light spilled through every window, casting long, shifting shadows across the porch and the yard. Sentries stood at every corner, every gate, every path that led toward the trees. The air hummed with a quiet, restless energy—part magic, part vigilance, part the shared knowledge that peace was only ever temporary. I stood at the kitchen sink, washing blood from my hands, the water running clear and then running pink again, as if the day would never truly wash away. Cole leaned against the counter beside me, his arms crossed, his gaze following every movement, silent and steady as the walls themselves.
"You have not stopped moving since the sun set," he said, his voice low enough not to carry beyond t
