The next morning, Ezra showed up at her doorstep, pale and limping. Blood soaked his shirt.
"What happened?" she cried.
He collapsed inside. "They found me. The ones who still serve him. They knew I talked to you."
Chizzy cleaned his wound in the kitchen, hands shaking. "Why are you helping me?"
Ezra's voice was soft. "Because I saw what he did to my sister. And because… I think you're the only one who can end this."
His eyes lingered on hers. There was something unspoken in the air tension, grief, hope.
"I'm tired of running," he whispered.
"So am I," she replied.
She didn't notice the red key glowing on the table behind them.