Rhett
The sanctuary feels different when she’s sleeping.
Not quieter—the stone walls still hum with that gentle silver glow, and the guys are making enough noise in the main room to wake half the magical world. But there’s something settled about the air now that Bree’s finally resting. Like the whole place exhales when she stops carrying the weight of everything on her shoulders.
I hover in the hallway outside her door longer than I should, listening for any sign of restlessness. After everything that happened yesterday—Theo’s vision especially—I wouldn’t be surprised if she was still awake.
Silence. Deep, exhausted silence.
My hand is already on the doorknob before I realize what I’m doing. Just a quick check, I tell myself. Make sure she’s okay.
I push the door open an inch.
She’s curled on her side, breathing slow and even. Stellan’s there too—stretched out behind her, his arm draped over her—
What the hell is Stellan doing in her bed?
Heat flares up my spine. My hands clench before I can stop them. Every muscle in my body coils, ready to storm in there and drag him away from her.
The smell of heated metal cuts through my rage. I look down—the doorknob is glowing faintly under my grip, heat radiating through thebrass. Before I can even let go, cool silver light flows down from the doorframe, and the metal cools beneath my palm.
The sanctuary. Keeping me from burning the place down.
I force myself to look back at her. At them.
She looks… peaceful. More peaceful than I’ve seen her in weeks.
Damn it.
I close the door, jaw tight enough to crack teeth.
She’s finally asleep. That’s what matters.
I make myself walk away, following voices toward the main room where the others have gathered. The space has arranged itself around our presence like it’s anticipating something—comfortable seating in a loose circle, warm light glowing from fixtures that weren’t there yesterday, the faint scent of something like cedar and starlight.
Jace is already sprawled across one of the couches, a wooden board balanced on his knees loaded with what looks like half of Mairen’s kitchen. Cheese, bread, some kind of preserved fruit that gleams like jewels in the light.
“Kitchen lady priorities,” he says around a mouthful of something that makes his eyes roll back. “I swear she thinks we’re all about to waste away.”
“Maybe because you inhaled three servings at dinner and came back for more,” Theo points out from his chair. He’s got a book open in his lap, but his eyes aren’t moving across the page. Just staring at the same spot like his mind’s somewhere else entirely.
“Growing boy,” Jace says with zero shame. “Besides, carbs are a love language. This is basically a hug you can eat.”
Wes hovers near the food like he’s torn between wanting and restraint. There’s something restless in the way he moves—not theusual hunger I’ve gotten used to, but something sharper. More aware. Like his whole body’s tuned to a frequency the rest of us can’t hear.
Gray leans against the far wall, arms crossed, watching all of us with that quiet intensity of his. Not uncomfortable, just observing. Taking the temperature of the room.
And I get it. We’re all keyed up, pretending to wind down when really we’re just waiting for the next thing to go sideways. It’s been that kind of week.
Stellan hasn’t joined us yet. I try not to think about where he is.
“She’s finally asleep,” I say, settling into the chair closest to the hallway. Just in case.
“About time,” Jace mutters. “Bree looked like she was running on fumes and stubbornness.”
“Can you blame her?” Gray’s voice carries an edge. “After everything yesterday—”
“She handled it,” Theo says quietly. “Better than any of us would have.”
