Cael isn't here for anything special. He's just looking for a coffee and a quiet corner to disappear into. Maybe get some PhD work done. Maybe pretend he has it all together. Then he steps into Rose & Ember. It's the kind of café that feels like a secret. Soft lighting. Warm air. A barista with sharp eyes and the kind of silence that feels deliberate. Nothing unusual, not really. Except time moves differently here. And Cael can't seem to stay away. He doesn't notice it at first. The way the air hums just beneath the surface. The way she always seems to be one step ahead. He tells himself it's nothing. Just a new routine. Just a better place to think. But something is watching. Something is waiting. And Cael is about to learn that not everything you find by accident is ordinary. Rose & Ember is a quiet story that burns slow. It's about connection, the things we don't say out loud, and the strange ways magic finds us when we stop looking. **** READERS, I'm back after an almost 15 year hiatus! I hope you enjoy this story and where it leads.****