Cassian’s POV
*Six months later*
The house is silent today.
I notice it the moment I step through the front door with my keys still in my hand, grocery bag dangling from my wrist, the faint scent of rain clinging to my jacket.
Normally Aria’s voice would already be racing toward me...
'Daddy! Daddy look what I made!* or *Mommy said I could have two cookies if I finished my letters!'
Instead there is only the low sound of the refrigerator and the soft ticking of the wall clock in the hallway.
Sera is in the kitchen, phone pressed to her ear, speaking in the clipped, careful tone she uses with telemarketers and strangers.
“…yes, she’s four. Dark brown hair in two braids. She was wearing the purple raincoat with the yellow ducks. No, she doesn’t wander off. She knows better. We’ve a
