Ivy POV

The morning started like I was trying to make life normal again.

I was in the lower courtyard with Rick, helping him count stones by the fountain. He liked arranging them in careful lines, always correcting himself when one was out of place. I watched his small hands move with too much focus for a child his age. It scared me, but I smiled anyway.

“Start again,” I told him gently. “Slow this time.”

“I am slow,” Rick said, frowning. “The ground doesn’t like rushing.”

I ...