Mira’s POV

I was chopping carrots when he arrived. Not heard, not seen. Just known. The bond whispered his presence before his footsteps reached the gate. I didn't turn around. Didn't call out. The knife kept moving, the rhythm against wood.

The gate creaked open. Closed. His boots on the path, then grass, then stopping a few feet behind me. I reached back with my free hand. "Bowl." He placed it in my palm. The carrots went in. I moved to the onions.

Kael appeared beside me, rolling up his ...