The residual monitors had stayed flat for days. No spikes, no warnings, nothing that required anyone to drop what they were doing and move to a station. That quiet made it possible to look at the eastern gardens properly for the first time since the pressure had eased.
Aiden met Elizabeth at the outer gate just after mid-morning. Two gardeners were already there—Hale, who had kept the temple's kitchen beds going through the worst of it, and Mira, younger, who usually worked the herb rows closer to the kitchens.
They carried tools and a pair of watering cans. Elizabeth had a folded list in one hand and a pair of gloves in the other.
"We'll start with the three beds nearest the path," she said. "They took the least damage. Clear what's dead, turn the soil, see what still has roots."
