Near full dark she walked the short distance to the family solar. Elena was there alone, a single lamp burning. Darius and the others were elsewhere in the keep, giving the space without being asked.
Elena read the southern letter when Elara offered it, then folded it carefully and returned it.
"You were the target because you were trusted," Elena said.
"You are leaving now because the work is real and because the man who wrote that letter has already proven he will not ask you to choose between the work and him. That is a rare thing. Take it seriously."
Elara's throat tightened once. "I will."
"And when the fever is understood, come home. Not because the keep cannot stand without you. Because you still have a place here that is not only the shape of a target."
They sat together until the lamp burned lower. No further advice. Only the quiet of a mother who had carried her own long roads and was willing to let her daughter walk this one without a map forced into her hands.
