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“What’s that smell?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Bunyip pup got into the fermented moonfruit again. Threw up all night.”

Delilah laughed before she could stop herself.

Rollo grinned. “Glad to know I can still make you laugh.”

She arched a brow. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You smell like compost and regret.”

He clutched his chest dramatically. “Ouch.”

She rolled up her sleeves. “Show me what needs doing.”

They worked side by side for the better part of the morning. Delilah helped clean the phoenix pup’s nest, using a light warming charm on the water while Rollo replaced the stones. They fed the owlets together—him slicing tiny bits of enchanted meat, her casting a calming charm that made the fluffballs sigh contentedly.

Their hands bumped. More than once.

The air between them sparked—warm, buzzing. Like it used to.

Delilah tried not to notice. Failed spectacularly.

At one point, Rollo knelt beside a wounded thistle hare, gently brushing its thorny fur with a salve that glowed blue. Delilah watched the way his brow furrowed in concentration, how he whispered to the creature like it was sacred.

He hadn’t just changed. He’d grown.

“Didn’t know you were such a softie,” she said, tossing him a fresh bandage.

Rollo caught it easily. “Guess you never stuck around long enough to find out.”

Delilah’s stomach flipped. She snapped back, “Not like you gave me much of a choice.”

Low blow. But not unfair.

Rollo stiffened, but said nothing as they continued on.

She busied herself tying a fresh ribbon around a bundle of herbs, fingers tight.

“This place is good,” she murmured after a while. “Better than I expected.”

He looked up, one brow raised. “That supposed to be a compliment?”

“Take it before I change my mind.”

He chuckled. “You’re a menace.”

“I get it from Wren.”

That drew a real smile from him—slow, genuine. It made her chest ache with memories. What was wrong with her?

He set down the salve. “I know you’ve got your hands full. But if you ever want to stay on here, more permanent-like…”

Delilah paused.

“As of now, I’m here for Wren as long as she needs me,” she said. “But I’m just going to take it day by day.”

“That’s fair.”

They worked in silence for a bit longer. A comfortable quiet. The kind that used to stretch long into evenings before everything went sideways between them.