Lorien POV

“An older woman sat rocking gently on the porch, a book resting against her knee. She didn’t look up when I stepped closer, but I knew she’d noticed me. She didn’t have to. In this house, nothing went unseen. I lowered myself into the empty chair beside her, balancing the plate on my lap, waiting for her to speak first.”

She didn’t look at me when I sat down, but the fact that she didn’t flinch, growl, or bare her teeth felt like a small victory. A fragile, barely ...