Chapter 164: The Weathered Hearth
The return to the cove was not a triumph. It was a limping retreat into a fragile sanctuary. News of their approach had preceded them, carried by swift Truth-Seer runners. The community gathered on the repaired docks, but their faces held no cheers, only a profound, wary relief. They saw the haunted exhaustion in Lyra's eyes, the new, terrible depth in Aurora's gaze, the way Elara leaned on Tessa, her eyes scanning the familiar faces as if looking for captions beneath them.
And they saw the bundle in Aurora's arms, wrapped in a sailcloth, from which emanated a soft, grey, heartbeat-like glow.
Kaelen was there, the Steward-Sentinel's form rigid, his control the only dam holding back a flood of emotion. He embraced Lyra first, a brief, hard clutch that spoke of fear endured. He touched Aurora's hair, his eyes asking a dozen questions about the light she carried. Then he turned to Elara.
