The starlight lay lazy and serene over rebuilt walls, around them. The moon was up but slim and new, young and curious. The breeze rustled leaves further out, in the dim green smudge of the woods, and the flat deep shine of the river and lake.
Harth offered, low so as not to disturb the quiet, trying to guess correctly, “We can rebuild the School, next. If you want that.” Tris had been looking that direction, when he’d come up.
“I would like that, I think.” Tris shifted weight, fit himself more neatly into the circle of Harth’s arm. Harth put the other arm around him too.
Tris leaned against him, back against Harth’s chest. And tipped his head back against Harth’s shoulder, which caused messy black hair to tickle Harth’s cheek. “I never thought…it’s not what I thought I wanted. What I u
