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The second I knew we were coming back permanently, I ordered him a new bedroom set and had it shipped straight to Granny’s house. It was a really nice twin set with a sturdy upholstered headboard, matching nightstand, and enough drawer space for all the little clothes Kaidence somehow managed to accumulate. I wanted him to walk into something that felt like his from the beginning, especially since so much of the move had been my decision.

Besides, I was deeply grateful not to be sharing my own bedroom with half the toy aisle at Target. My room was already unapologetically me, right down to the leopard-print accents I had loved for as long as I could remember. Trying to mix Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, monster trucks, and leopard print in one room would have irritated me every time I opened the door.

Kaidence was already tucked beneath his navy-blue comforter, his little head propped against two oversized pillows while he clutched a stuffed velvet velociraptor against his chest like it was responsible for nighttime security. Seeing him settled in, surrounded by all the little things that made the room feel like his, made every bit of the extra effort worth it.

“Bedtime, buddy,” I said as I sat on the edge of the mattress and brushed one of his curls away from his forehead.

He tipped his face toward me, those huge dark eyes suddenly much too serious for a five-year-old. “Can we ride back by Daddy’s house this weekend?”

My chest tightened. “Kaidence…”

“I know I already asked twice since we got here and you said no,” he rushed out before I could finish, then flashed me a wide, smile that told me he wasn’t the least bit sorry for asking again. “But Grandma says the third time is a charm.”

A laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

That boy had an answer for everything.

He immediately lifted one finger like he had another point to present in court. “Also, you did say maybe.”

“Maybe is not a contract.”

His little brows pulled together. “What’s a contract?”

“Something you’re too young to use against me.”

That only made him frown harder, and the expression hit me square in the chest. Caspian used to make that exact face whenever an argument wasn’t going his way, the same deep little furrow between his brows like he was personally offended that somebody had the nerve not to agree with him.

For a second, all I could see was Caspian.

I swallowed around the sudden ache and forced myself back into the room.

Instead of giving Kaidence my usual automatic no, I let out a slow breath. “We’ll see.”

His entire face brightened. “Well, that’s not yes, but it’s not no either.”

I shook my head, fighting another smile.

I pulled a worn picture book from his nightstand and read to him until his heavy eyelids finally surrendered to sleep. When his breathing deepened into a soft, steady rhythm, I leaned down, pressed a kiss to his temple, and switched off the bedside lamp.

Standing alone in the quiet hallway outside his bedroom, I pressed both hands over my face and slowly dragged them down to my chin. I still hadn’t told a single soul what I thought I saw in that second-story window at Caspian’s house, mostly because I had spent the rest of the day convincing myself that I hadn’t actually seen anything at all.

That was the version I was sticking to.

It had been memory, grief, exhaustion, the afternoon rain, and shadows moving behind old glass. It had been every unresolved piece of my heart reaching for something familiar because being back in Hallowridge had already stirred up more than I was ready to deal with.

At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

The problem was that some quieter part of me knew better.

If Caspian was alive, there was no reason for him to be hiding inside that dark mansion after six years without reaching out to me. And if something terrible had happened to him, then there was no explanation at all for the figure I had seen standing behind that upstairs window… neither possibility made sense.

I pushed the whole thing into the deepest corner of my mind and told myself I was done thinking about it.

Mostly.

***

Day five in Hallowridge started with fire.