But the table where we sat still held something heavier.
Unfinished.
I looked around at the group.
Keegan.
Gideon.
Nova.
Bella.
Ardetia.
The goblins.
The vampire ladies listened from the counter.
It suddenly felt like we’d reached the part of the night where real conversations begin.
And judging by the way Keegan and Gideon were watching each other across the table…
There was still a lot left to say.
The tea shop had gone quiet in the way late nights sometimes do when the lamps are still burning, but the world outside has already decided to sleep.
A few orcs lingered near the counter, talking in low voices over the last of their tea. Two shifters had pulled their chairs close to the hearth, half-dozing. Behind the counter, Vivienne and Mara moved slowly through the routine of closing—washing cups, wiping tables, straightening things that had already been straightened once.
The room felt smaller now and more private, which meant the conversation that had been circling our table all night finally landed.
I turned the cup slowly in my hands, letting the warmth seep into my fingers. The steam curled up in thin white threads while I tried to decide how to say it.
“I ran into someone in the woods before the shadows showed up.”
The words weren’t dramatic, but the table went still anyway.
Nova’s eyes sharpened right away. Bella leaned in a little, elbows inching closer to the table. Keegan didn’t say anything, but I saw the tension settle across his shoulders.
Gideon just watched me.
“Rendel.” The name landed hard, and Keegan shifted in his chair, barely enough to notice unless you were looking for it. But I was.
And I noticed. Gideon did too. So, he knew that was Keegan’s father.
I kept going before anyone could jump in.
“He was looking for something.”
Gideon’s brow pulled in slightly. “What?”
“The shadow stone.”
That did it.
Something flickered across his face—quick, but not quick enough to miss. Recognition.
He gave a slow nod. “That tracks.”
