The air is crisp, but the sun shines brightly in the flawless blue sky. The waves beat a hypnotic rhythm against the cliffside, often lulling Edmund into a daze behind the wheel of Aures’ buggy. He shakes himself mentally.

“Him being home means nothing good,” Aidan decides, pulling his great coat tighter around his frame. “If they truly sent him on break, as he says, then there’s been trouble on-base, but even the time Aeron ‘accidentally’ mowed down three officers ...