What remained of my group huddled at the far edge of the camp, half swallowed by shadow and firelight. They stood close, like proximity alone could keep the world from collapsing in on them.
Every face was tight.
Every face but Lila's.
She sat cross-legged on an overturned crate, humming softly to herself, head tilted, eyes locked onto me with an intensity that made my skin itch. Like she was watching a show she already knew the ending to.
Hale stood rigid, arms folded across his chest, jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
Terri hovered near him, her lip trembling despite how desperately she tried to hold it still. Aubrey's brows were drawn together, sharp and calculating, already running scenarios in her head that none of us wanted to say out loud.
Jane looked… shaken. Pale. Like something sacred inside her had fractured— something she'd spent her whole life protecting.
