Winter came quietly that year.
There was no warning that anything was about to change. No sign that something important was about to be taken away.
Everything felt normal.
Until it wasn't.
Cassidy collapsed in her garden.
It happened without drama. No loud cry, no visible struggle. Just one moment she was tending to the plants she loved, and the next she was on the ground, her strength gone.
The message reached Aria at the training center.
She did not think.
She ran.
Through the streets of Moonvalley, past people who called her name, past everything that usually kept her composed and controlled. None of it mattered in that moment.
Something was wrong.
She could feel it.
Not just worry. Not just fear.
Something deeper.
By the time she reached the healing house, her breath was uneven but she did not slow down.
She found Cassidy conscious, lying on a prepared bed. Pale. Weak. But still aware.
That alone was both a relief and a warning.
