There was no logical explanation for it, but she felt his presence behind her, like the subtle change in the seasons. A shift in the wind. This was not necessarily a welcome change. She did not suffer that kind of delusion. Not yet. But even the moment when the leaves fall from their boughs—even that moment—has a beauty to it. A glory of its own. And this change? This change made her shoulders tense and her stomach spin. It was real . . . and terrifying.
