Chapter 22 - The Gathering Fires
To mark Mila’s seventh birthday in mid-summer, the family invited their closest, most trusted companions to the mountain sanctuary. For the first time since the estate was built, the quiet halls were filled with the lively sounds of music, clanking dinner plates, and warm laughter.
As dusk settled over the lake, a large bonfire was lit on the pebbled shore. The water, clear and calm, mirrored the deep violet of the summer night sky and the brilliant scatter of stars above.
Friends who had stood beside Constantine and Josie through their hardest trials gathered around the flames, sharing stories of the past with a sense of relief, knowing those dark days were now distant memories.
Mila ran along the shoreline with a sparkler, its bright light illuminating her joyful smile as she chased fireflies near the water's edge.
Constantine stood a short distance from the fire, watching the scene with a quiet, observant eye. Josie stepped up beside him, slipping her hand into his broad palm.
"What are you thinking?" she asked gently.
"I used to think that peace was just the absence of war," Constantine confessed softly, his eyes reflecting the warm glow of the fire. "I was wrong. Peace is this. It's watching her run without fear. It's standing next to you and knowing there is nowhere else I need to be."
May you like
Josie leaned into his arm, her heart full. "We earned this peace, Constantine. Every single day of it."
He tightened his grip on her hand, bringing it to his lips to press a tender kiss against her knuckles. "Then we will guard it for the rest of our lives."
