The convoy stopped at the lower gate and waited.
That was new.
No rushing engines. No floodlights aimed into the trees. No loudspeaker barking orders into the yard. Just three dark government SUVs idling on the road below the ridge, their headlights cutting pale lines through the late afternoon mist.
Aria stood on the porch and watched them.
She felt different.
Not weaker in the simple sense. Not fragile. But the world no longer opened itself to her in endless layers. The city wasn't humming in her blood. The moon wasn't pressing against the back of her thoughts.
For the first time in a long time, she felt the shape of her own body more clearly than the shape of everything else.
It was unsettling.
It was also a relief.
Kai came out behind her with a rifle slung over one shoulder and a mug of coffee in his hand. He glanced at the convoy, then at her.
"You're leaning too far forward," he said.
Aria blinked. "What?"
