LOGINBRIDIE POV"There. That corner, exactly there. My cousin always insisted on the stall nearest the fountain, said it brought good luck for the wedding shopping."Senna pointed toward a section of collapsed masonry, considerable rubble burying what had once been a modest market stall entirely.The granite arch had buckled directly across the fountain basin, shattering the stone lip and pitching tons of slate, mortar, and split rafters into a precarious mound. Dust still drifted in thin, chalky plumes from the cracks whenever the ground settled, and the smell of sulfur and damp stone rose sharp from the hollows below.Cato, Wren's son, moved forward immediately, calling for careful, coordinated clearing rather than the frantic digging every instinct screamed toward."We do this properly," he said, steady despite his young age, an authority in his voice that spoke to real training rather than simple confidence. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, revealing forearms corded with rope-sca
CORMAC POV "Bridie! Cormac! Goddess, it's actually you."Wren's voice carried across Greymoor's rubble-strewn square, older now, steadier, but carrying exactly the same fierce, capable energy I remembered from every account Bridie had ever shared of this family's remarkable daughter.The air hung thick with pulverized limestone, bitter woodsmoke, and the damp chill of overturned cellar earth. All around the square, the town looked as though a giant hand had reached down and violently shook the foundations—half-shattered timber trusses jutted like broken ribs against the slate-grey sky, and chalky white dust coated the roofs, horses, and the frantic lines of volunteers passing buckets of water from the broken conduit."It's good to see you," Bridie said, embracing her warmly despite the devastation surrounding them both, beating the grey powder from Wren’s heavy woollen rescue coat. "Though I confess I wish the circumstances were different.""Don't we always," Wren said, pulling back
BRIDIE POV "An earthquake, strong enough to collapse half the eastern branch's main hall, and three Weaving House families caught somewhere in the wreckage of their own home territory. Cormac, this isn't a case we can simply send a letter about."I read the emergency report aloud, hands trembling slightly despite two years of learning to meet crisis with steady calm rather than panic.The dispatch paper was smudged with soot and crumpled at the corners, carried by a lathered horse that had collapsed into the hands of our stable hands only minutes before. Outside our quarters, the early morning had broken with deceptive softness, mist clinging to the orchard grass, but inside, the air was suddenly charged with the sharp, metallic tang of raw catastrophe."Which territory," Cormac asked, already moving toward our travelling packs, his voice dropping into that deep, stripped-back tone he wore whenever peace abruptly turned to grit. His leather riding gear was pulled from the cedar chest
CORMAC POV "A year already. Bridie, I keep looking at her and trying to remember what our lives even looked like before she existed, and I genuinely can't quite manage it anymore."I said it, watching our daughter, steady on her feet now and fiercely determined to explore every corner of the Weaving House's gardens, far more mobile than either of us had fully prepared for.The late-afternoon sun was thick and golden, draping the terrace in amber light that smelled of ripening pears, sun-baked earth, and sweet thyme. Isla’s dark curls bounced with every energetic, slightly wobbly stride she took across the crushed gravel, her small linen skirts hemmed up by Bridie so she wouldn’t trip over her own ambition. She had my stubborn jaw and Bridie’s curious hazel eyes, and every ounce of the relentless will that had carried both of us through council halls and frozen wastes."I know exactly what you mean," Bridie said, laughing as Isla toddled determinedly toward a patch of Ness's carefully
BRIDIE POV "Three children, born within a single season, into a family that spent two years teaching an entire reunified world that difference was never actually the danger everyone once assumed it to be."Elira's voice carried warm across the Weaving House's largest hall, packed now with representatives from a dozen territories who'd travelled considerable distances simply to witness the joint blessing ceremony.The high timber rafters were strung with garlands of dried rowan berries, sweet bay, and white heather, filling the great room with the rich, autumnal scent of wild harvest. Through the tall, arched windows, the late afternoon sun pooled over the flagstones in broad, honey-gold ribbons, catching the colorful embroideries of tunics and cloaks from every corner of the realm—rough wools from the peat bogs, deep indigo linen from the lake country, and soft ermine trims from the northern wastes.Baby Isla, held securely in my arms, gurgled happily at the crowd's attention, kickin
CORMAC POV "Two weeks behind Isla, exactly as Wynn predicted, though I don't think even she expected to go into labour in the middle of drafting a curriculum addendum."I delivered the news to Bridie with barely restrained amusement, having just come from Wynn's own quarters where Cael was attempting, with limited success, to convince his wife that the charter's footnotes could genuinely wait until after the birth.Outside, the afternoon breeze carried the crisp, early scent of turning leaves and dried cedar shavings from the lower workshop. Inside our kitchen, Bridie was folding a basket of baby Isla’s linen swaddles, pausing mid-motion with a bundle of willow-green wool in her hands, her hazel eyes lighting up with that bright, familiar warmth."Some things don't change," Bridie said, laughing as she tossed the swaddle into the basket and wiped her hands on her apron. "I don't think Wynn's ever fully set work aside for anything in her whole life."We arrived to find Wynn considerab







