The Rossi estate stood farther from the center of Valdoro than most of the other Pillar families.
Not hidden.
Just… removed.
Where the DeLucas trained with fire and the Bellandis danced with wind above rooftops, the Rossis remained close to the ground.
Their home rested at the edge of a rocky slope where the land rose unevenly, scattered with large stones and patches of dry earth.
It was quieter here.
Still.
The kind of place where even sound seemed to move more slowly.
Luca Rossi preferred it that way.
He sat alone near the base of the hill, one knee drawn up slightly, his hand resting flat against the ground.
The earth beneath his palm was cool.
Steady.
Familiar.
For most people, the ground was just something to walk on.
For Luca, it was something else entirely.
It spoke.
Not with words.
Not with sound.
But with feeling.
A slow, constant awareness that moved beneath the surface of everything.
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
The world around him faded.
The wind softened.
The distant voices from the town disappeared.
All that remained was the quiet pulse beneath his hand.
The earth breathed in its own way.
Slow.
Deep.
Unmoving.
Until…
It wasn’t.
His eyes opened.
The feeling had shifted.
It was faint.
So faint most people would never notice it.
But he did.
His fingers pressed slightly into the soil.
There it was again.
A tremor.
Small.
Uneven.
Wrong.
Luca frowned slightly.
The ground beneath Valdoro had always been steady.
Solid.
Reliable.
This felt different.
Like something moving where nothing should be.
Behind him, footsteps approached across the gravel path.
“Luca?”
He didn’t turn immediately.
“I’m here.”
Francesca Rossi stepped into view a moment later, brushing dust from her hands.
Her dark hair was tied loosely at the back, and her expression carried the quiet strength that came from years of holding everything together on her own.
“You’ve been out here since morning,” she said.
Luca finally looked up.
“I didn’t notice the time.”
Francesca smiled faintly.
“You rarely do.”
She stepped closer, her gaze drifting briefly to the ground where Luca’s hand still rested.
“Something bothering you?”
Luca hesitated.
Then he shook his head slightly.
“Just thinking.”
Francesca studied him for a moment longer.
She knew him too well to believe that completely.
But she didn’t press.
Instead, she moved past him toward a large stone structure near the side of the estate.
The Carved Stone Idol.
It stood taller than both of them, its surface etched with ancient markings that had been worn down over generations.
The symbol of the mountain was carved at its center.
The Rossi heirloom.
Solid.
Unchanging.
Or at least…
It was supposed to be.
Francesca paused in front of it, her hand brushing lightly over the surface.
Then she stilled.
“Luca.”
He was already on his feet.
“What is it?”
Francesca stepped aside slightly.
“Look.”
Luca approached slowly.
At first, he didn’t see anything unusual.
Then—
A thin line ran along the side of the idol.
A crack.
Barely visible.
But it hadn’t been there before.
Luca reached out, his fingers brushing lightly over the stone.
The moment his skin touched it—
The feeling returned.
Stronger this time.
The ground beneath him shifted.
Not physically.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But he felt it.
Deep below.
Something was moving.
Luca pulled his hand back slightly.
Francesca’s voice was quiet.
“That shouldn’t be happening.”
“No,” Luca agreed.
It shouldn’t.
The Stone Idol had stood unchanged for generations.
It was a symbol of stability.
Of permanence.
If it was cracking…
Something was wrong.
Francesca crossed her arms slowly.
“Have you felt anything else?”
Luca hesitated.
Then nodded.
“The ground isn’t… steady.”
Francesca’s gaze sharpened.
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like something is shifting underneath.”
“How deep?”
“I don’t know.”
Silence settled between them.
The kind of silence that carried weight.
Francesca looked back at the idol.
Then at the ground beyond the estate.
“Is it dangerous?”
Luca considered the question.
Then shook his head slightly.
“Not yet.”
Francesca exhaled quietly.
“Good.”
But her expression said she wasn’t convinced.
Luca turned his gaze back toward the hillside.
The tremor hadn’t returned.
But the absence of it didn’t feel comforting.
If anything…
It felt like something waiting.
A sudden voice broke the silence.
“You two look like you’re discussing the end of the world.”
Luca didn’t need to turn this time.
“Matteo.”
The DeLuca boy walked up the path casually, hands in his pockets, his usual easy grin already in place.
“Good morning, Mrs. Rossi,” he added politely.
Francesca nodded.
“Matteo.”
He glanced between them.
“Did I miss something serious, or are we just staring dramatically at rocks today?”
Luca gestured toward the idol.
“It’s cracked.”
Matteo stepped closer, squinting slightly.
“Oh.”
He leaned in.
“That’s… new.”
“Yes.”
Matteo straightened.
“Should I be worried?”
Francesca answered calmly.
“Not yet.”
Matteo nodded.
“Good. I prefer my problems dramatic but not immediate.”
Luca almost smiled.
Matteo glanced at him.
“You felt it too, didn’t you?”
Luca looked at him more closely.
“You noticed something?”
Matteo shrugged slightly.
“Not like you. But… something feels off.”
Francesca’s gaze flickered between them.
“What do you mean?”
Matteo scratched the back of his neck.
“I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
Luca looked back at the ground.
That made two of them.
Francesca’s voice was firm now.
“If something is changing, the other families need to know.”
Matteo nodded.
“I can tell Chiara.”
Luca spoke quietly.
“They’ll feel it soon anyway.”
Francesca studied him again.
“You’re certain?”
Luca didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he lowered his hand once more to the ground.
For a moment, there was nothing.
Just the usual stillness.
Then—
A tremor.
Stronger than before.
It pulsed beneath his palm like a heartbeat.
Uneven.
Unnatural.
Luca’s fingers tightened slightly against the soil.
“The stone…” he said quietly.
Matteo frowned.
“What about it?”
Luca lifted his gaze slowly.
For the first time, there was something unfamiliar in his expression.
Unease.
“It’s not just shifting.”
Francesca stepped closer.
“What do you mean?”
Luca looked back at the cracked idol.
Then at the ground beneath them.
His voice was quiet.
Careful.
Like he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to say it out loud.
“It feels like something is waking up.”
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
And beneath Luca’s hand…
The stone trembled.