They passed Thistlehouse a few streets later. Edith stood on the porch, wrapped in a shawl, arguing with Penelope. Edith waved when she saw them, her face warm. Penelope’s eyes flicked to the Nordan escort, her mouth tightening. Dani gave them both a brief nod and kept walking. She would catch up with her sisters later.
“Where are we going?” Aurelia asked.
“Bookstore,” Dani said. “Layla’s.”
Aurelia perked. “The Vol…Volik Luna? From yesterday?”
“Volkhov,” Dani said with a chuckle. “They’re the other pack that lives here. And yes, Layla is their Luna. She owns a bookshop.”
They turned down a narrow side street. Hawthorne Books sat halfway along it, tucked between a café and a shop selling hiking gear. A hand-painted sign swung gently over the door. The window was crowded with paperbacks, second-hand hardcovers, a chalkboard promising coffee and Aurora Peak survival tips.
The bell chimed overhead as they walked in. Warmth washed over them, along with the soft, familiar smell of paper and coffee. Shelves climbed the walls. A few humans browsed near the front, bundled up in thick jackets, noses red from the cold.
Behind the counter, Layla looked up.
Her whole face lit up. “Dani,” she said, already moving around the counter. “I was hoping you’d come in today.”
It hit Dani how little genuine welcome she’d had since arriving. Her throat went tight.
“Morning,” she managed.
Layla’s gaze landed on Aurelia and softened even more. “And Aurelia! How was your first night in Skymist?”
Aurelia shuffled closer to Dani with a shy smile. “It was alright, thank you.”
“I’m glad,” Layla said, her hand drifting to the pregnant swell of her stomach. “And are you out exploring today?”
Aurelia nodded, eyes flitting from shelf to shelf.
“Kids’ corner’s back there,” Layla said with a chuckle, nodding toward a nook with beanbags and low shelves. “Dragons, robots, witchy kids who definitely never get into trouble…”
Aurelia shot Dani a look. At Dani’s nod, she vanished toward the nook like a small, determined missile.
Layla flipped the sign to ‘Back in 5,’ and the lock clicked softly. One of the human customers drifted to the till, paid, and left. The other lingered over the maps until Layla murmured something about needing to rest a bit before reopening, patting her baby bump for effect. He took the hint and headed out with a cheerful wave.
The bell chimed once more. The shop fell quiet.
“Come on,” Layla said. “Let’s go somewhere a bit more comfortable.”
***
The back room was warm and cramped in a comforting way. One wall was all shelves and boxes of unshelved books. A battered desk sat under the small window, papers stacked in untidy piles. A sagging sofa and mismatched armchair faced a stone fireplace, cold and empty for now, a basket of logs waiting beside it.
Power hummed soft and steady at the edges of Dani’s senses, wards woven into the doorframe, the window, even the old rug. Layla’s handiwork. Subtle, solid.
Layla lowered herself carefully into the armchair with a huff, hands braced on her belly. “Sit,” she said. “If I stand much longer, Dominic will appear out of thin air to carry me home.”
Dani sank onto the sofa, unwinding her scarf and letting it pool in her lap. Aurelia tucked herself at the end with her dragon book, clearly listening even as she pretended to read.
Layla studied Dani for a moment, all the Luna brightness gentled down to something quieter.
“How are you?” she asked.
Dani stared at her hands. The mark on her neck throbbed faintly, in time with something that wasn’t quite her heart. “I don’t know.”
Layla nodded, like that was the expected answer. “Fair.”
“The Nordan Compound was…much as I remember it. I haven’t seen Arthur. Lavinia hasn’t summoned me for a lecture. So that’s…something.”
