---
Leaf touched the grass with one tiny hand. The red-green patch pulsed once around her fingers.
"Bond," Leaf whispered. "Home. Queen."
Bat Bat slowly straightened with great dignity. "Then you should know I support your queen path."
Leaf blinked at her. Then the young sapling bent one thin branch toward Bat Bat.
Bat Bat pointed at it. "See? Royal approval."
Auri's mouth softened faintly. "She is not alone anymore."
Leaf looked at Auri then.
"Not alone," she repeated.
The words were small.
The meaning was not.
Across Dawn House and below it, the bloodline continued to settle. Lily felt the warmth fade from sharp ache into something steadier. Mira returned to her ledgers, though the ink stain remained like evidence of a thought she had not wanted interrupted by emotion. Auri stayed beside Leaf with Bat Bat, quieter than before but not quite as alone.
