The seasons that followed carried a rhythm Jasmine had never quite dared hope for — not the desperate, reactive urgency of survival, but the slower, steadier work of building something meant to last. She found herself, more than once, simply standing at the fortress window in quiet disbelief that an entire season could pass without a single crisis demanding her immediate attention, a disbelief that never quite faded even as the peaceful seasons stretched longer and longer.

The standing alliance met quarterly, representatives from every major bloodline gathering to share intelligence, coordinate resources, and practice the bond-reinforcement techniques that had once saved Ashmere and closed the tear at the shrine....