I watch, settled with a warm satisfaction in my chest, as Arthur bolts into the woodland.
Brilliant job, Calix says, that went better than expected.
I let out a slow breath as wind moves through the clearing, stirring the dead leaves around us. It carries the scent of pine, damp earth, and something else. Something lighter, warmer.
Something like... wild lavender.
It brushes against my senses so lightly I could almost miss it. But I do not. My senses are on higher alert than normal, as the full moon is almost upon us.
A steadying warmth spreads through my chest at the recognition of it, sudden and deep, loosening something I had not realised was tight.
It carries contentment along with it. Hope, and something dangerously close to joy.
Then the tether sharpens significantly behind my
