~Annalyn POV~
Nobody suggested the walk. It simply happened, the way certain necessary things happen after something large has ended, without announcement or coordination.
I stood up from the stone where Lucas had caught me and Matteo had sat beside me through the sealing, and I looked at the grounds, and I started walking.
Lucas fell into step on my left.
Matteo fell into step on my right.
Neither of them spoke, which was exactly right, because there were no words available yet that would not have been too small for what the grounds were holding.
The mansion's north wing had taken significant damage in the final battle. A section of the outer wall had come down, the stone scattered across the courtyard in a pattern that told me the impact had been substantial. Several windows were gone.
The main gate hung at an angle from one hinge, which would need to be addressed before the structure was functional as a perimeter again.
I looked at all of it.
