The expanded watch rotated back to standard levels by mid-afternoon. Scouts reported the northern caravan clear of the last ridge with no further contacts.
The remnant signals that had forced the heightened posture had gone silent two days earlier and stayed that way. Ordinary traffic resumed on the road.
Inside the temple the tension that had kept everyone sharp finally eased enough for people to notice what they had been putting off.
Selene found Aiden in the small courtyard behind the eastern wing. She did not wait for an invitation. She sat on the low stone wall opposite him and rested her hands on her knees.
"I've seen the pattern," she said. "Elizabeth. Kaelara. Now the rest of us. I'm not here to demand you choose."
Aiden met her eyes. "I'm not choosing. Not the way you mean."
