Chapter 99

Aria's POV

Kira turned six in the autumn.

Which meant, as she had been tracking with patient precision since spring, that she would start school at the beginning of the next term.

She had been ready since summer. Anyone paying attention could see this. Margaret said it plainly in July. Beth said it diplomatically in August. Drogo said nothing, which was his way of agreeing with both of them. I had known it and been sitting with the particular mix of readiness and something softer that parents feel when the thing they've been preparing their child for finally arrives.

She didn't become more excited as the date approached....