(Damien POV)
The first winter after the artifact felt like a gift we hadn't earned but were given anyway.
Snow lay thick and soft across the ridge, blanketing Blackspire in quiet white. The towers wore frosted crowns, and the bailey glowed with lanterns and braziers that kept the worst of the cold at bay. Inside the keep, fires burned steadily in every hearth, filling the halls with the scent of pine, spiced ale, and fresh-baked bread. The pack moved with the easy rhythm of people who no longer feared what tomorrow might bring.
Today was Lyra's fourth birthday.
