The cottage felt smaller somehow. No longer just a refuge, but a crucible holding too much pain and too many secrets.
Juan and Esperanza sat close, recounting what had happened beneath the earth in soft, measured tones, their voices steady but weighted with the enormity of it all. Elena, Jaime, and Phineus listened intently, the flicker of firelight casting long shadows across their faces.
"Gueyaba showed us the choice," Esperanza said, her silver-flecked eyes shining with an otherworldly calm. "To remain children scraping at godhood… or to return as we are now- strong, grown, but bound together."
Juan nodded. "It wasn't easy. The roots, the magic… it changed us. Made us stronger but also different. We didn't have a choice if we wanted to survive."
Phineus's gaze flicked between his older siblings, wide and searching. "Is Papa… like that too? Changed?"
Elena's heart clenched fiercely. She swallowed hard, smoothing her voice into something softer, gentler.
"Phineus… your father is… facing some struggles right now. Things that are hard to understand."
She reached for his hand and squeezed it firmly. "For now, we keep that between us, okay? We'll face it together when the time is right."
Phineus nodded solemnly, though his eyes betrayed the confusion bubbling beneath his brave front.
Jaime shifted, glancing toward the window where the last rays of dusk slipped through the curtains. "It's a lot for one night."
Before anyone could respond, the door creaked open and Alejandro, Aurora, and Vera stepped inside. Their expressions were a mixture of concern and curiosity, heavy with unasked questions.
"Elena," Aurora said softly, coming forward. "You should rest. Let me start on a meal."
Elena gave a faint nod, exhaustion threading her movements. "I'll get dry clothes for Juan and Esperanza."
Aurora's eyes lingered on her, knowing when not to push. "We're be here if you need us."
Elena allowed herself a moment alone, closing her eyes briefly to gather the storm of her thoughts.
Later, after giving the clothes to the tired duo, Elena slipped away again. Jaime found her in the bedroom, quiet but restless. The warmth of the fire barely touched the cold gathering in her chest.
He closed the door behind him and came to her side, his voice low. "They're explaining everything to Alejandro and Aurora."
She sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I don't feel safe here anymore. Not with that corruption running so deep… I don't know what to expect next."
He knelt before her, eyes steady and sure. His hand lifted to cup her to cheek, warm and steady, the faint pulse of magic beneath his skin grounding her. "I won't let anything happen to them. To you."
Her gaze searched his, vulnerability threading through her uncertainty. "Is that you talking… or Coatriskie?"
Jaime's lips curved with a slow smile. "Does it truly matter anymore?"
She melted into the touch, leaning forward just slightly, eyes closing. "Why are you so good to me?"
"Because," he whispered, voice thick with something fierce and tender, "if anyone needs tenderness, it's you."
They stayed like that, letting the quiet between them speak volumes, until a low growl shattered the stillness.
Elena's eyes snapped open. Through the window, two red eyes flickered in the firelight, watching.
A predator stalking its prey.
Neither moved, but the room thickened with unspoken dread… An omen that the shadows outside were far from finished with them.