Draden watched from the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame. For a few brief moments, the rest of the world faded away, narrowing to his daughter laughing with her friend. Safe and carefree, the simple joy of childhood and shared food. It made his heart ache; her mother should be here to witness these moments with him.

  It was a reminder of why he was fighting so hard and how much farther he had to go still.

  Coradine entered then, her robes slightly dusty from moving his bed so they could reach the power point that had been stored beneath it. Marcus followed, wiping sweat from his brow. They exchanged a glance with Draden, their expressions serious.

  Backing further into the kitchen, he nodded for them to speak.

  "The wards are back up, and there is a possibility we can expand them to cover the restaurant.” Coradine began. “It’s plain to see where Leah got her magical talent from. Lorna laid an incredibly solid foundation; we just needed to channel fresh mana into them. They'll hold against most intrusions now—physical or magical. But they're not invincible. If someone truly powerful attacks your home…"

  Draden nodded, his jaw tight. "It's a start. Thank you. Both of you."

  Marcus grunted, crossing his arms. "Don't thank us yet. We heard about the visitor. Valerius, right? Slippery bastard. He's Tavian's personal butler, his right-hand man. If he came personally, Tavian's serious. What did he say?"

  Draden recounted the exchange, his voice low and controlled, though his hands clenched at the memory of the threats. "He mentioned Leah. That's where I drew the line."

  Coradine's eyes flashed with anger. "Good. You can't let them think they can use her as leverage. But you might have poked the proverbial hornet's nest. Tavian is a noble, and like all nobles, doesn't like being refused. He might do the smart thing and take the warning seriously, or he could escalate, subtly at first. Sudden and unexpected taxes, inspections, maybe some 'accidents' on the road."

  "I've dealt with bullies before," Draden said, his tone hardening. "In my old life as a mercenary with Lorna, and I’m not going to let it ruin Leah’s life. They always underestimate what a cornered man will do. What do you need to expand the wards? We can worry about everything after that.”

  “Time mainly and mana crystals,” Marcus replied for them both. “And don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on you both. Don’t forget, we’re Leah’s teachers and formidable mages ourselves. However, once we announce our presence as her teachers, everyone will know that she has already awakened her ability to use magic.”

  “I know, it’s why I haven’t asked you to do anything like that yet.” He sighed and went back to preparing the waiting orders. “Let’s concentrate on the wards for now. Tavian can make the next move. Hopefully, he’ll just let things lie.”

  The steam from a simmering pot of leftover chili curled lazily upward, filling the air with a deep, earthy aroma that grounded Draden amid his swirling thoughts. Marcus scratched at his beard, his weathered face creased with the lines of a man with too many worries, while Coradine stood with her usual poise, her robes still carrying faint traces of dust from their work on the wards.

  The large restaurant kitchen felt smaller with the three of them in it, the space humming with unspoken worries.

  "Expanding the wards to the restaurant," Marcus continued, breaking the brief silence, his voice gruff but steady. "It’ll require mana crystals, good ones. The foundation Lorna laid is solid, like Coradine said, but tying in the new building means weaving the spell arrays together without gaps. One weak spot, and it could provide a potential opening for someone to use."

  Draden nodded, his mind already calculating costs. Mana crystals weren't cheap, especially the quality they'd need. It was doable, but it would wipe out most of what the restaurant had managed to earn.

  It stung—every coin saved was a step closer to rebuilding his strength, to finding Lorna—but Leah's safety came first. Always. "How long?"

  "If we work through the night and are careful, then three days," Coradine replied, her tone measured. “We'll need to properly map the old spell arrays, design the new ones to integrate with them, and then we can begin to reinforce the connection points tomorrow. Once you provide the mana crystals, we can start on creating the new wards.”

  Draden met both of the older mage's eyes. Leah's laughter from the dining room reminded him of who and what he was doing this for. "Alright. Start the mapping. I'll handle the rest in here."

  The words hung there, heavy with the weight of his past failures—the nights he'd drowned in drink, ignoring Leah's quiet pleas, the day Lorna was taken while he lay broken and useless. He wouldn't fail again. He was different now, literally, and he was going to do everything he could to prevent anything from happening to that little girl out there.

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  Marcus clapped him on the shoulder, the gesture firm, almost paternal. "Good. We're here—use us. Coradine and I aren't just tutors for the girl."

  As they left, Draden turned back to the stove, stirring the chili absentmindedly. The rich broth bubbled softly, its spices weaving through the air and the warmth mingling with the subtle smokiness of chili powder.

  A soft patter of feet announced Leah's return before she peeked around the corner, Eowin trailing behind her like a shadow. "Daddy, we're hungry again," Leah declared, her green eyes wide and pleading, her strawberry-blonde hair escaping its braid in wispy strands. She clutched a crumpled drawing in one hand, its colors were smudged, but it was clearly an attempt at a family portrait, him, her, and a faceless figure with sharp ears that tugged at his heart.

  Eowin nodded vigorously, her own hair a tangled mess from the long hours they had been playing. "Me too. Leah said the red soup is magic."

  Draden's tension eased a fraction at their innocent faces. "Chili, not soup," He corrected gently, crouching to their level. "And yes, it's a little magic, just like all the food I make is. Sit at the counter, I'll fix you some." He grabbed a couple of small bowls for the two girls, wondering why they were so hungry that day. Normally, dinner kept them full for the rest of the night, but this was their second time coming back for a snack now.

  The girls scrambled onto stools, their legs swinging as they chattered about their drawings. "This is you, Daddy," Leah explained, pointing to a stick figure with an oversized sword. "And this is Mommy, but I couldn't remember her smile right." Her voice dipped, a tiny crack in her cheer.

  Draden's throat tightened. “What about-” He glanced at Eowin and cut himself off. He would ask her about the dream later; perhaps she had already forgotten the specific features of the mother in her dream. That wouldn’t be too unusual; remembering faces from dreams was always hard.

  He ladled chili into the two small bowls, the steam carrying the comforting scent over to the two little girls. Draden added a dollop of sour cream on top, swirling it lightly, and placed a half-loaf of Elmsworth's bread beside each. "It's okay, sweetie. We'll see her smile again someday." The promise felt heavy on his tongue, a vow he clung to amid his doubts.

  Leah dipped her spoon in first, scooping up a mix of tender beef chunks and creamy beans coated in the thick, tasty broth. She blew on it dramatically, her cheeks puffing out, before taking a bite. The flavors grew, the earthy beans yielding to the beef's savory depth, the chili powder's gentle heat building with each chew, balanced by the tang of tomatoes and a whisper of the other spices.

  The qi followed, a warm trickle that made her wiggle in her seat, easing the faint tiredness from her long day. "It's like a hug in my tummy," She giggled, tearing off a piece of bread and dunking it in.

  Eowin followed, her eyes widening happily at the first spoonful. The broth coated her tongue, rich and complex, the spices layering heat over sweetness from hidden onions, the beef melting softly. She chewed slowly, the qi soothing a lingering bruise on her knee from a tumble earlier.

  "Tastes so good," She said solemnly, mimicking Leah's dunk with the bread, the crust soaking up the chili's broth for a satisfying crunch.

  Draden watched them eat, the simple joy of the moment wrapping around him like a warm blanket. These little moments with his goofy but loveable daughter, and her equally weird little friend, had become the heart of his days. His prime meridian still ached, his wife was still missing, and all the other troubles still loomed, but in these small moments, everything was right in the world.

  As the last customer left for the night, Emilie closed and locked the door behind him with a soft sigh. She gently massaged her neck and fell onto the nearest chair with a moan of relief.

  “Tonight was so busy, it was an utter madhouse,” She groaned.

  Nearby, Alice was sprawled across a table that she was in the midst of cleaning, slowly. “Tell me about it. If this continues, we’ll need more waitresses just to keep up with the orders.”

  Draden poked his head out from the kitchen. “Screw that, you think I can handle more than what we did tonight?” He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I think we pretty much learned what our limit was tonight.”

  At least for the moment. Truthfully, he was getting faster and stronger every day as the energy from the food enhanced his body little by little. It was a slow process at the moment, but once his prime meridian was healed, it would increase in speed many times over. At least, that was the hope. Without access to his core, there was just no telling how much damage had been done to it over the years. He might need to create a new one from scratch, or he could get lucky.

  One would take longer than the other. Either way, his strength would begin to increase faster than it was at the moment.

  “What are we going to do if more come and we can’t seat them?” Emilie asked, getting to her feet tiredly.

  “We can either turn them away or offer them something that they can take away with them,” He replied, already thinking the idea over. Yeah, that could work. “We were going to do that lunch cart, maybe we’ll expand the idea a bit and use it for the overflow diners as well.”

  He had meant to talk to the construction workers that night, but they hadn’t made an appearance. It was probably a good thing they hadn’t, with how busy it had been; they wouldn’t have been able to have a satisfying discussion anyway. The few minutes he had grabbed with his daughter had been the rare moments of peace and not the norm.

  “So, you mean that we would be selling them the tacos and chicken wraps?” Alice asked curiously.

  Draden handed them both a biscuit to give them some energy and nodded. “We’ll need to get the cart made first, and source the supplies to wrap the food. The construction workers never showed up tonight. I’ll probably go and talk to them tomorrow after I drop Leah off at school.”

  Alice and Emilie devoured the biscuits, perking up as the healing energy soothed their weary bodies. Feeling better, the two began cleaning the eating area and putting everything away. Meanwhile, Draden went back to working inside the kitchen. He had been cooking near constantly for the last several hours and was nearly out of ingredients for several of the dishes. He would need to do a massive supply run the next day as well.

  Despite that, he prepped what he could and stored it all in the refrigerator.

  Eowin was asleep in Leah’s bed, beside her friend, by the time Emilie finished and was ready to head home. For a moment, Draden thought about offering to let the girl stay the night, but decided better of it. She was too young for him to be comfortable doing that, and she would probably freak out when she woke up as well if they decided on her behalf.

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