The morning after Kaelara left the upper sitting room, the temple moved at a slower rhythm. No alarms had broken the night. The residual seals remained intact. The courier slept under ward and watch. Selene had sent only a brief note before dawn: the first full decryption pass was complete, and the northern planning could wait until midday.
Aiden woke alone in the sitting room. The oil lamp had burned itself out sometime in the early hours, leaving the air thick with the faint scent of spent wick and residual smoke.
The couch still held the faint warmth and scent of Kaelara's presence—leather, clean metal, the sharp edge of her skin. He sat for a long moment with his elbows on his knees, simply breathing. The quiet no longer felt borrowed. It felt earned.
He rose, stretched the stiffness from his shoulders, and went looking for Elizabeth. He found her in the small eastern cloister that opened onto the herb garden.
