Allen caught the edge of Seraphina's shawl before it reached the wheel. He tucked the blue cloth back over her lap and smoothed the pale blue skirt clear of the wheel, then pressed his thumb against the brake release. Nothing snagged. 'Fine.' Seraphina watched him from the chair with a patient look that somehow made the extra check feel accused. "Don't start." The corner of her mouth lifted. Allen leaned down and kissed the crown of her silver hair. Her right hand rose and closed around his wrist. A small squeeze. Warm, deliberate. "Ready?" She nodded. "Good. We're going." He released the brakes and pushed the wheelchair through the front door. Morning light lay across the uneven stone. Shop shutters stood open, carts rattled past, and the smell of hot bre

By evening, Seraphina was back at the table. The wheelchair brakes were locked, her feet settled on the footrests. Her blue shawl rested over the shoulders of her pale-blue dress. Her right hand lay on the armrest. The left rested in her lap, quiet for now. Allen stopped beside his chair and looked at that hand. Her violet eyes lifted to his. "You've had time to rest," he said. "Still want to show me?" She nodded, slight but immediate. "All right." He shrugged out of his jacket. The small D-rank badge stayed pinned to the left chest as he hung the jacket on the wall peg. Then he stepped behind the right side of her wheelchair and bent close. His lips brushed the edge of her jaw just beneath her right ear. Seraphina tipped her head a little toward him before he straightened. Allen went to the hearth and picked up the scrap of cloth resting

The south yard smelled of horse sweat, oiled leather, and hot dust. Allen spotted the party before anyone called his name. A broad man with a compact shield stood beside a dispatch wagon, checking the straps on his sword belt. A woman leaned on a long spear near the equipment rack. The last Hunter, younger than the other 2, had a bow across his back and was trying to tighten a glove with his teeth. The shieldman looked up first. "Allen?" "Yeah." "Garran." He tapped his own chest, then pointed without ceremony. "Brenna. Pell. Badge." Allen pulled his jacket open just enough to show the D-rank badge at his left chest. Garran's eyes dropped to it, then to Allen's empty hands. "Weapon?" "Stored." "Briefing?" Allen touched the inner pocket. "Good. I take front. Brenna works behind my left. Pell stays rear unless I move him. Don't cross his line when he has the bow up." "Got it." Brenna looked Allen over from boots to jacket and snorted. "Guild really sent us a D-rank in a nic

Below them, another fissure began to hiss. Garran didn't move. "Nobody shifts." The hiss thickened into a wet roar. Allen watched the crack instead of the steam crawling from it. Pell had gone still behind the broken wall, bow across his lap. Brenna stood beside him with her spear angled down toward the quarry. Heat pressed through Allen's shirt and found every place sweat had already soaked it. The stone under the outer lip jumped. KRAK! A slab broke loose below the wall and vanished into the basin. Ash rolled up in a dirty cloud. Brenna coughed. "Well. There goes the fucking floor." "Back from the lip," Garran said. They gave it space. The ash thinned. Something moved below. At first Allen saw only plates. Black ridges slid through the red-lit steam, too broad and too low to belong to another hound. Then a forelimb planted beside the central fissure. Claws scraped basalt. A heavy skull lifted through the haze. The creature was built close to the ground, a thick reptili

A small breath warmed his mouth. Her hands tightened on his shoulders. She leaned into him without trying to move her feet, trusting him to hold the line while her legs did their share. For once, he didn't have to bend over a wheelchair or lean across a bed to meet her. He could simply hold his wife against him and kiss her while she stood there under her own stubborn effort. That hit harder than he expected. Allen broke the kiss just enough to breathe. Seraphina followed him. "Greedy," he murmured. Her pleased little smile said she considered that praise. He kissed her again, slower now. When he finally pulled back, her cheeks had gone warm. She was breathless and bright, her hands still resting on his shoulders. Then Allen felt the change. The tremor