SERAPHINA’S POV
The phone buzzed again in my hand, and I swiped my thumb across the screen absently.
“Mom?” Daniel’s voice came through, bright and beautiful—and grounding in a way nothing else could be. “I sent you a video of Uncle Gavin and Dad sparring, did you see?”
“Daniel,” I said quietly, shifting my weight, mapping the space around me. “I need you to listen carefully, okay?”
Goosebumps prickled along my arms. The trees bordering the road stood unnaturally still, their outlines razor-sharp in the moonlight, shadows pooling thick and deep between their trunks.
“Mom?” Daniel’s voice had lost its brightness. “Is everything okay?”
“First, I need you to stay by your dad’s side,” I continued, voice calm by force of will. “Don’t wander. Don’t leave his sight for a second. Can you do that for me?”
“Mom…what’s wrong?”
