SERAPHINA’S POV
By the time we got home, the sky had already bruised into twilight. The air was cool and smelled faintly of rain—one of those soft, in-between evenings when everything felt calm.
Daniel trudged beside me, his hand warm in mine. He was quieter than usual, which wasn’t entirely odd after a long day. But something about his silence tonight felt different.
“Quite a day, huh?” I said as we stepped into the foyer.
He gave a small shrug. “It was okay.”
“Just okay?”
He nodded, eyes fixed on his sneakers. “Yeah.”
I helped him out of his jacket and hung it on the rack. His shoulders slumped, and I noticed a faint scuff on the knee of his jeans—one that hadn’t been there this morning.
“Did you and the twins have fun?” I asked, trying for lightness.
There was a pause. Then he mumbled, “They’re…fine.”
That tone—guarded, evasive—put me instantly on alert. Daniel was a talker. Vague answers weren’t like him.
I crouched so we were eye level. “Fine?”
