Stella's POV

The trip was long, but the boys didn't stop talking for even a second. Apollo insisted on describing every cloud with a different shape. I heard things like, "That one looks like a rabbit," or "That one's a dragon!" while Orion tried to convince Alexander that the plane's speed exceeded the limits allowed by physics. I don't even know where he learned that physics had limits.

Alexander listened to everything patiently. He always did. And when the plane finally touched down, I felt something inside me land too.

Safety. Stability. And a stubborn little spark of fear.

The airport was more crowded than I remembered. People with hurried expressions, rolling suitcases, children asleep on their parents' shoulders. A whole world in motion. And there, among so many unfamiliar faces, one face made me smile wide.

"Aunt Leah!" my sons shouted in unison.

They took off running, like they'd been released by an invisible spring, and threw themselves into her arms with enough f