Hope's first real test of her recovery came eight weeks post-battle when a minor rift manifested during her morning monitoring session, and watching my daughter freeze completely at the sight of dimensional tear was—I mean she'd been doing well but this was the first actual threat since the battle and I could feel through the maternal bond her terror spiking.
"Rift manifesting. Eastern perimeter. Small. Maybe three feet across." Her voice came out mechanical. Controlled. "No entities detected yet. Just—just dimensional instability."
Just dimensional instability. Right. Except her breathing had gone shallow and her hands were shaking.
"Hope." I kept my voice calm. Steady. "You don't have to heal it. We can call Covenant specialists. You're still recovering. You're allowed to step back."
"I can do it." Her voice stayed flat but I felt the doubt underneath. "It's small. Easy. I've healed hundreds of rifts. This is—this is nothing."
