Back in Black River, we entered the pack house.
Exhausted.
"Sleep," Kael said. "Both of you. Tomorrow brings new challenges."
"Will we survive them?" Erica asked. Scared child under the mature exterior.
I knelt. Looked her in the eyes.
"I don't know, baby. I really don't. But I promise you this: I'll fight for you. For us. For this family. With everything I have. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Everything."
"That's all I can ask," she said.
Wise beyond her years. My daughter.
We went to our rooms. Kael and I are collapsing into bed. Erica is in her own room across the hall. Close enough to feel safe.
As sleep claimed me, I felt the Tear. Quiet Settled.
It whispered to me in that space between waking and dreams:
You did well today. Showed strength and mercy. Freed a tormented
