Benjamin arrived in Aster with little to show for the months he had been gone. His bags held only what he had been able to bring out of Xenos — a few changes of clothes, some medicine, and the small things people had pressed into his hands before he left. He thought of the gifts he had packed for them before the Mid-Autumn ball. Wrapped carefully, chosen with each person in mind. All of it lost in Amara, with everything else from that night.
He didn't let himself think about it for too long.
Madam Wagner had heard the carriage before it stopped. By the time Benjamin set foot on the path, she was already at the door, and the moment she had him in her arms she didn't let go for a long time. The attendants crowded the entrance behind her, some tearful, some laughing, some both at once. Shan had cried loudly and without any embarrassment, gripping his sleeve as though to confirm he was real.
He had not expected to feel this undone by it.
