The wagon crested the last hill and Sparker Village spread out below them.
The first visit had been a pit stop, a quick check-in between crises. Now there were no crises. No assassins, no convergence bombs, no duchesses trying to marry her wife off to some guy. Just a farm, a village, and a family dinner that was about to go horribly sideways the second her parents saw how many people she'd brought home.
The wagon rolled to a stop in front of the Starcaller farmhouse and Aegis hopped off.
Lisannia and Aaron were already outside, standing by the front door with the kind of big, genuine smiles that made Aegis's chest tight. Her mom waved. Her dad raised a hand.
Sophie launched herself off the wagon and hit the ground running, slamming into Lisannia with a hug that almost knocked the woman over.
"Mom!"
"Sophie, careful, you'll break my—"
Then Talia stepped off the wagon.
Lisannia's smile froze. Aaron's hand stayed up, mid-wave, like someone had paused him.
