Morning came too early and with too much purpose.
Samantha woke to find Kai already gone—his side of the bed cold, his coffee mug abandoned in the kitchen sink. Marcus was in the library, naturally, surrounded by more books than seemed physically possible. And Callum was doing push-ups in the living room with Nova perched on his back, giggling every time he went down.
"You're using our daughter as a weight," Samantha observed, padding into the room in one of Marcus's shirts.
"She requested it," Callum said, not breaking rhythm. "Made very insistent gestures."
Nova clapped her hands, clearly delighted with her role as exercise equipment.
"Where's Kai?"
"Left two hours ago for the industrial complex," Callum grunted. "Should be back by noon with terrain intel."
"Two hours ago?" Samantha checked the clock. "It's barely seven. When did you all wake up?"
