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A few moments later… After dinner.
Night settled over Monarch Mountain like a warm blanket. The forge went quiet. The watch posts lit small, steady lamps. Alka took her high circle in the dark and cut slow rings into the sky. The four ants from Mia's old team held the outer lanes. Vexor on the right sand bowls. Shale on the stone switchback. Flint above the north vent. Needle in the shadow path near the roots. Their calls were low and calm.
Kai walked Luna back to their chamber without speaking. The day had been long. Good work, hard talk, small peace. Now the real talk waited.
Inside, the room was simple. A low stone and moss bed. A table with a clay lamp. Two cups. A window slit that showed a piece of moon and a scatter of stars. Luna sat on the edge of the bed and watched the dark for a breath, then turned to him.
"Now," she said. "Tell me the rest. Tell me the part you did not say at the gate. Tell me without pretty turns."
