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Ducking around a pair of maids carrying boiling pots, she snagged a few biscuits from yesterday’s breakfast, stale but edible. Then she retreated to the safety of her room. The best thing she could do for everyone was stay out of the way.

She lingered in the bath, letting the heat pull the soreness from her muscles. She took her time with her hair. She managed to kill the better part of the morning, but when she checked downstairs an hour later, there was still no breakfast.

Whatever was wrong with Talya, it wasn’t over yet.

A strange twinge settled in Aimee’s stomach—something uneasy she couldn’t quite name. Almost like concern, but that couldn’t be right.

She shook it off. And with no more excuses to delay the inevitable, she headed for Talya’s room, where thelittle misswas no doubt soaking up attention like the insufferable sponge she was.

Admittedly, she didn’t know what was happening up there, but she’d seen enough performances to know the beats. Poor, wounded Talya. The broken girl who somehow still got everything she wanted. And everyone else crowded around her, desperate to prove how much they cared.

Halfway up the stairs, a thought struck—what if she was missing fingers?

Talya had been wandering the woods for a month without food or shelter. She’d probably lost some toes to frostbite, at the very least.

Aimee’s lips twitched into a grim smirk. She hated herself for it immediately, but the thought persisted. And it invited friends.

What if the golden girl wasn’t so golden anymore?

What if that pretty face wasn’t so pretty?

What if Skylen’s perfect little obsession came back clawed and ruined? Would he still look at her like she hung the moon, or would the cracks finally show?

It shouldn’t have made her feel better. But it did. Just for a second.

Just long enough to make her feel worse.

The top floor of the townhouse belonged to Skylen and Talya. Aimee had never had a reason to go inside before now. The door to the attic suite stood open, and she poked her head around it, trying not to look too interested.

The entryway opened into a narrow but inviting hallway, the walls paneled in the same dark wood as the floors. At either end, two doors faced each other. The one on the right stood ajar. Beyond it, she glimpsed a comfortable bed with a dark wood frame and sturdy posts, bedecked in masculine tones of green and brown.

Skylen’s room, most likely. Which meant the closed door across the hall belonged to Talya.

Between the two rooms stretched a spacious common area with tall, sloping ceilings. Sunlight streamed through arched windows, spilling over the furniture—a collection of comfortable sofas, plush armchairs, mismatched wooden tables, and soft, over-worn rugs.

It wasn’t to Aimee’s usual taste. But she couldn’t say she hated it either. It felt comfortable, like a space meant to be lived in. Not designed but shaped over time, molded around the people inside.

That’s where she found the rest of her family—and a few others.

Ivain and Sarina sat curled into armchairs, speaking in low voices near the fire. Kato was slumped sideways in a chair, arms folded, chin tucked against his chest.

From the couch, Skylen stared at nothing—awake, but not really there. His damp hair curled at the ends.

The room was thick with a waiting kind of silence.

Aimee stepped inside, the soft creak of the floorboards loud in the hush. Nobody looked at her. The only sound was the occasional shift of fabric, the snap of burning wood.

She cleared her throat at the threshold. “Well. Glad to see the family morale’s holding steady.”

Sarina’s gaze cut to her, sharp enough to flay.

Aimee held up her hands. “Sorry,” she mouthed. Apparently, humor wasn’t allowed on the fifth floor.

“We’re doing what we can,” Ivain muttered, rubbing a hand down his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Taly was having some difficulty breathing. Aiden’s in with her now.”

“He’s been in there for ages,” Sarina said tightly, her chin perched on a rigid fist.

“Might as well get comfortable. It’s probably going to take a while longer.” Ivain gestured to the room.