Night had settled fully over Kastoria's capital by the time the three of them made their way back through the city streets toward the castle. The market stalls had folded away their awnings, replaced by the warmer, quieter atmosphere of evening—lanterns burning at intervals along the stone paths, the distant sound of music from somewhere deeper in the entertainment district, the comfortable reduction of crowd noise to something more intimate and unhurried.
Ayaka walked with the satisfied looseness of someone whose day had gone exactly as needed. Akane moved with her customary composed grace, though there was a softness around her eyes that hadn't been there this morning—the visible residue of a day genuinely well spent.
They had gotten what they'd needed from today. Both of them. Nathan could tell, and something about knowing that settled quietly in him.
