As Rohan helped the kids load into the cart outside the inn, the early morning fog hung low over the town.

  The world was beginning to shift. People would know his name now. Whispers of what he’d done here would spread like fire through dry grass. The Iron Talons would be listening.

  But first… the children, they needed shelter.

  The decision came quickly.

  Rohan tightened the straps on the cart, adjusted the horse’s reins, and climbed into the saddle.

  “We’re going to a town, it’s safe. I’ve been there before.”

  “Where is it?”

  Rohan didn’t look at him.

  “Where someone I care about is.”

  The road stretched ahead, quiet and misted in the morning haze. The horse trotted along steadily, pulling the small cart behind. The children huddled under blankets Rohan had taken from the inn, the scent of blood still faint on the fabric.

  Rohan didn’t speak for hours. His body was calm, his breathing steady, but inside his thoughts churned, memories of Talia, of the day he had left her behind, believing it was the only way to keep her safe.

  Would she even be there? Would she hate him for leaving?

  By the time the sun dipped low behind the trees, Rohan spotted the outskirts of the town, the same place he’d taken Talia after the village fell.

  The stone walls still stood. Smoke curled gently from the chimneys. It looked peaceful, untouched by the chaos spreading across the land.

  As they passed through the gate, a few guards glanced at him, wary of the bloodstained armor and silent demeanor, but no one moved to stop him.

  The children stared wide-eyed at the buildings and streets. For a moment, they looked like what they were supposed to be, just children. Tired, curious, and too small for the weight the world had placed on their shoulders.

  Rohan slowed the cart as he reached the center of town. He dismounted quietly and walked over to one of the guards. The man recognized him instantly, a flicker of memory in his eyes, then respect.

  “You’re back.”

  Rohan nodded.

  “The girl I left here… Talia. Is she still with the family?”

  The guard nodded.

  “Aye. She's safe. They took her in like she was one of their own. Lives in the east quarter now. You’ll find them near the old well.”

  Rohan turned back toward the children.

  “Wait here. I won’t be long.”

  The house was simple, stone walls and a wooden door slightly faded with age. Lantern light flickered through a window.

  Rohan stood there for a moment, hand hovering over the door. Then he knocked.

  The door opened slowly, and Talia stood there.

  She looked older. Not by much, but enough to notice. Her face was no longer hollow from hunger, and her eyes… they held something new.

  But when she saw him, really saw him. Her hand flew to her mouth.

  “Rohan…”

  She whispered.

  He gave her a tired smile.

  “Hey.”

  Talia stared at him for only a heartbeat. Then her expression broke, from shock, to pain, to something sharp and trembling.

  She stepped forward and struck him in the chest. Not hard, not to hurt, just enough to make him feel it, over and over again.

  “Why did you leave me?”

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  She cried, voice cracking.

  “You said you were coming back, and then you just disappeared! I thought you were dead, Rohan!”

  He didn’t stop her. Didn’t raise a hand or look away. He just stood there, taking it.

  “I waited…”

  Her fists fell to her sides.

  “I waited so long.”

  Then, her fingers reached out, trembling, as she touched his face. She traced a scar along his jaw, the curve of a newer one across his brow. Her fingertips brushed the edge of one still healing.

  “You look… different.”

  Rohan’s voice was low.

  “I am.”

  Her eyes filled with tears.

  “I missed you so much.”

  He closed his eyes at her touch. It was the first time in a long while someone had touched him without fear.

  “I had to go.”

  He said softly.

  “If I stayed, I would’ve brought all of this to you. To them.”

  His eyes opened, meeting hers.

  “I couldn’t lose you too.”

  Talia didn’t speak right away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in, holding him as tightly as her small frame could manage.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  She whispered.

  Rohan let out a faint, broken breath and looked towards the moonlight.

  “I know.”

  Rohan stepped back slightly, his hand brushing Talia’s arm. His voice was quiet.

  “I didn’t just come back for you.”

  Talia looked up at him, brows furrowed.

  “There are three kids in the cart outside, orphans. I found them hiding in a village the Talons wiped out.”

  His jaw tightened.

  “They have no one. They need a place.”

  Talia didn’t hesitate.

  “They can stay here.”

  She said, instantly.

  “As long as-”

  Her voice wavered, and she caught herself.

  “As long as you don’t leave again.”

  Rohan’s eyes dropped to the ground, silent. Then, with a quiet breath.

  “I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  The words hung there.

  Talia didn’t cry this time.

  She stepped forward and rested her forehead against his chest.

  “Then stay tonight. Stay here. Just for now.”

  He nodded.

  “I will.”

  But then she looked up, her voice suddenly firmer.

  “No.”

  Rohan blinked.

  “What?”

  “I’m not letting you go alone again.”

  Her hands gripped his shirt.

  “You left me once. That’s not happening again.”

  “Talia-”

  “No.”

  She cut him off, eyes full of something fierce.

  “I don’t care how dangerous it is. I’m not a kid anymore. If you go, I go.”

  Rohan stared at her, torn between protest and something dangerously close to relief.

  There was silence for a moment, until he finally spoke.

  “Then we leave at dawn.”

  The house was warm and dimly lit by the fire. The smell of herbs and stew lingered in the air.

  Talia guided the children inside with gentle words, helping them settle on a woven rug near the fire. The youngest girl clung to her hand like a lifeline. The older woman of the house offered them food without a word, her eyes soft with understanding.

  Rohan stood near the doorway, unsure if he belonged.

  But the man of the house, a broad-shouldered farmer with silver in his beard, approached with a weathered, patient look. He motioned for Rohan to follow him out the back door into the cool night.

  They stepped onto the porch, overlooking the quiet fields.For a while, the older man said nothing.

  “You came back.”

  Rohan nodded.

  “Didn’t think I would.”

  The man let out a low hum.

  “Talia did.”

  Rohan turned to him slowly.

  The old farmer leaned against the post, arms folded, gaze distant.

  “She never stopped talking about you. Not even when the others said it was time to let go. Every night, she’d sit by the fire, learning how to stitch wounds, make bandages, grind herbs into powders. She said… if you came back hurt, she didn’t want to be a burden again.”

  The man glanced at him, his voice low.

  “She didn’t say it outright, but we knew. She blamed herself for slowing you down. For not being able to help when everything went to hell.”

  The silence that followed was heavy.

  “She trained with one of the guards too,”

  The man added after a beat.

  “Didn’t tell anyone. But I saw her bruises. Saw how fast she was with a blade when she didn’t think anyone was watching.”

  Rohan’s jaw clenched, he thought leaving her behind had kept her safe. But she hadn’t waited in safety, she waited in preparation.

  “She grew into someone strong.”

  The old man said gently.

  “But she only ever wanted to be strong for you.”

  Rohan looked out at the darkened fields, thinking of all the nights he’d bled under the stars alone, imagining Talia far away from it all, untouched by the chaos. And now… he realized she’d been fighting her own battle all along.

  He turned his gaze back to the door, where the flickering light reached through the cracks. Talia wasn’t the same girl he’d left, and neither was he.

  Rohan stepped back into the house, the warmth of the fire welcoming him like something he'd almost forgotten how to feel. The children were wrapped in blankets near the flames, their small hands clutching wooden cups of broth. Talia looked up from where she sat beside them, and when their eyes met, she smiled, not the kind of smile meant to hide pain, but something genuine.

  He sat down beside her, silent, and took the bowl she handed him. The food was simple but warm. He ate without words, but with every bite, something loosened inside him.

  That night, as the house grew quiet and the embers of the fire dimmed to a soft glow, Rohan laid down on a thick wool blanket. He expected to sleep alone. He always did.

  But Talia came silently, laying beside him, curling up against him with her head resting gently on his chest. Her hand found his, and she didn’t say a word.

  Then, a moment later, the youngest orphan girl padded over in the dark, dragging her blanket, and laid on Rohan’s other side, her small body curling close.

  Rohan didn’t move.

  He stared up at the ceiling, heart heavy and full in a way that almost frightened him.

  This…This is what it would feel like to have a family. Not just people to protect. Not just lives to avenge. He wanted it. For the first time, he truly wanted something beyond revenge, and that made him afraid. Because peace was fragile and everything he had touched had burned.

  So he made a vow. He would protect this. Even if it meant going against the Iron Talons. Even if it meant going against every noble, every army, every kingdom that tried to take it from him. He would cut them all down if they dared threaten this again.

  As Talia’s breathing softened into sleep beside him, and the girl on his other side sighed into dreams, Rohan closed his eyes.

  And for a little while, he let himself believe peace was possible.