Riley arrives at the cottage with Tristan about twenty minutes after she sent her last text to Val. As they walk up the path to the house, she stops and grabs the flowers her sister asked her to grab and tucks them neatly into her bag. She slips the key out of her pocket and unlocks the door, feeling Val's charms slowly unbind to give her access. She steps in, pulling Tristan inside with her, and closes the door behind them, muttering the protective charm back in place.

"Val?" she calls as she drops her bag on the kitchen table. She grabs a washcloth from a drawer and wets it, pressing it up to her nose, still bleeding just a bit.