They came back to the apartment at half past ten.
Sela went to her room without ceremony, the way she did things that were complete. She said goodnight to Aiden when she passed him in the corridor, briefly and with the specific warmth she had been giving him since the morning he had told her the truth about the fourteen months.
The apartment settled into its late-night quiet.
Tal had gone to bed. Suri was finishing her documentation. Nia had her maps.
Aiden had been at the window since nine. He held a tablet he had not touched. Nia had glanced at him an hour earlier, said nothing, and gone back to her work, which was the kindest thing anyone had done for him all day.
Kael went to find Aiden at the window.
The same window. The same street. The city at this hour, never fully dark and never fully quiet, closest to both after ten on a Sunday.
Aiden heard him come in.
He turned.
Kael looked at him.
