[WARNING! Unedited! Don't buy!]
Sorry, just so busy right now.
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The forest did not sleep.
Even as Caroline finally drifted into a shallow, restless doze, her head against my shoulder, the woods remained alert—branches shifting, unseen creatures scurrying through the undergrowth, the low hum of nocturnal life pressing in from all sides. It felt like we were intruders in a world that had already decided our fate and was merely waiting to see how we would fail.
I stayed awake.
Every muscle ached, but I did not dare relax. The pact with Sol burned faintly beneath my skin, not painful—just… present. Like a mark I couldn't see but somehow felt every time I breathed. I wondered what he'd done to seal it. What part of me I'd just sold without realizing.
Dawn came slowly.
Gray light seeped through the trees, revealing a world washed clean of night's illusions. Leaves glistened with dew. Moss shone emerald against stone. The forest looked peaceful now—almost kind.
A lie.
