Liliana perked up. "Oh! There's a place near the square. My uncle used to bring me, it's cozy and not too crowded."
"Sold." Nathan hooked an arm around Adrian's shoulder before the boy could argue and steered him down the road.
Merlin followed with Elara beside him, the two trailing a little behind the others. Her stride was graceful as always, though more relaxed than earlier, like the tension she wore around the others had eased with the setting sun.
"…You're quiet," she said, her voice just audible over the chatter of their friends ahead.
"I'm always quiet," Merlin replied.
"Not like this."
He glanced at her. "Observant."
Her lips curved faintly. "Always."
They didn't speak further, but the silence wasn't heavy. It was… companionable. The kind of quiet Merlin hadn't realized he missed until now.
The tavern Liliana had promised turned out to be tucked between a bakery and a tailor's shop, its sign carved into the shape of a wolf howling at the moon.
