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No hesitation.
No fear.
No ancient debt sitting between them.
Just choice.
That’s when I feel it.
Not beneath the house.
Not inside the mark around my wrist.
Outside.
Beyond the windows.
The land.
Waiting.
Listening.
But not taking.
I look toward the dark glass.
The corn beyond it sways once.
Then stills.
Rhett follows my gaze.
“Problem?”
I wait.
Nothing moves.
“No.”
I settle back against Ezra.
“Not tonight.”
The earth stays quiet.
Good.
Because this wasn’t an offering.
It wasn’t a ritual.
It wasn’t payment.
Tonight, we didn’t give the land a fucking thing.
Tonight belonged to us.
