Moments later,

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By late afternoon, the children were tired out. Selene had sent them upstairs to the guest rooms with armfuls of soft blankets and stories about the Blackwood ancestors, and soon the only sounds in the cottage were the crackle of the hearth and the faint creak of floorboards.

Aria and Malphas sat in the parlor, the firelight gilding the edges of their faces. For a long time, neither spoke. There was so much to say - so much they had danced around, so much they had left unsaid while they fought wars and built packs and saved the world.

Malphas leaned forward, his elbows on his knees,...