The clatter of the carriage wheels softened as it turned into the quiet lanes of Greystone Dock. The setting sun had long since bled into twilight, and the cobbled streets shimmered faintly beneath the evening fog.
Inside the last Ravenshade carriage, Elowen sat in silence, her heart thumping softly at the approaching warmth. It had been only five days—but it felt like years. She had missed the scent of home, the sound of her mother humming in the garden, and even Maeryn's annoying habit of finishing her sentences.
The familiar stone cottage came into view, its warm lights glowing like an embrace against the chill of night.
She barely stepped down from the carriage when she heard it.
"Oh, heavens! I missed you so much!"
Marianne Grantham's voice cracked with emotion as she hurried forward, hands still dusty from plucking flowers at the garden hedge.
"Mama!" Elowen exclaimed, her voice tearing with joy as she rushed into her mother's arms.
