Flo didn't sleep.
She lay on the wide guest bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of a mansion that wasn't hers. The sheets were soft—too soft. The room smelled faintly of clean wood and warm food, a scent she wasn't used to.
Safety always felt strange.
Her eyes drifted to the window. Beyond it, the city lights flickered like distant stars. Somewhere out there, people lived normal lives. They laughed, argued, dreamed, and slept without worrying about being hunted.
She envied them.
Carefully, Flo sat up. The room felt empty without noise, without voices. She pressed a hand lightly against her chest, feeling the slow, steady rhythm of her heart. It was calm now—but that calm had taken years to learn.
She hadn't always known peace.
Growing up, Flo had learned early that kindness was conditional. In the places she came from, power decided everything. Strength gave you protection. Weakness painted a target on your back.
She had been neither strong nor weak.
Just… inconvenient.
The memory made her jaw tighten.
She slipped out of bed and padded silently through the mansion's halls. The floors were cold beneath her feet, but she welcomed the sensation—it grounded her. At the far end of the corridor, light spilled from an open door.
The kitchen.
Jake was there, seated at the table, papers spread out in front of him. Maps, quest notices, scribbled notes. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, hair slightly messy like he'd run his fingers through it one too many times.
"You're up late," he said without looking up.
Flo paused. "So are you."
Jake smiled faintly. "Couldn't sleep."
She stepped inside and leaned against the counter, watching him quietly. There was something different about Jake. Not just his strength, but the way he carried it. He didn't flaunt it. Didn't fear it either.
He simply… used it.
"I didn't expect you to say yes," Jake said suddenly.
"To what?"
"To letting you join the party."
Flo's fingers curled slightly. "Regret it?"
He shook his head. "No. Just wondering why you asked in the first place."
She hesitated.
The truth hovered at the edge of her tongue—but she swallowed it back.
"I was tired," she said instead. "Tired of moving. Tired of being alone."
Jake studied her for a moment, then nodded. "That's fair."
He didn't push. That made it harder.
Flo looked away.
She remembered the night she'd left home. The way the air had smelled sharp and cold. The way footsteps had followed her through the dark, too many to be coincidence. She'd learned then that staying meant dying.
Leaving had been her only option.
"You ever think about going back?" Jake asked quietly.
Her breath caught.
"No," she answered immediately. Too quickly.
Jake didn't comment.
A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the soft crackle of a candle on the table. Flo found herself relaxing despite herself. This place—this group—felt dangerously close to something she wanted.
Belonging.
Footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Kale appeared, arms crossed, eyes sharp as ever. She took one look at Flo and frowned.
"You're awake," Kale said flatly.
"So are you," Flo replied.
Kale ignored the comment and turned to Jake. "You trust people too easily."
Jake sighed. "You already said that."
"And I'll keep saying it."
Flo straightened. "If I'm a problem, I can leave."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Jake looked between them. "Nobody's leaving."
Kale's gaze lingered on Flo, calculating, wary. "We'll see."
The tension was thick enough to choke on.
Flo forced herself to meet Kale's stare. There was hostility there—but also something else. Suspicion, yes. But underneath it… discomfort.
As if Kale felt something she didn't understand.
Jake cleared his throat. "We'll need another quest soon. Funds won't last forever."
Kale nodded. "Something manageable."
Flo's lips curved faintly. "You've already done the impossible. Why settle now?"
Kale shot her a sharp look. "Careful."
Jake chuckled. "She's not wrong."
Flo smiled—but inside, her thoughts churned.
Another quest meant exposure. Another battlefield. Another chance for someone to notice what they shouldn't.
Still… she didn't want to run anymore.
Later that night, back in her room, Flo sat on the edge of the bed. Moonlight spilled across the floor, pale and cold. She closed her eyes and focused inward, feeling the faint pull she tried so hard to ignore.
Power surrounded Jake like a quiet storm.
Reliable. Endless.
It called to her in a way nothing else ever had.
She clenched her fists.
I won't.
She had survived this long without relying on anyone. She could survive longer. She had to.
But even as she lay back down, her thoughts refused to quiet.
For the first time in years, Flo wasn't running.
And for the first time, she was terrified of what staying might cost her.
Outside, unseen, the night wind shifted—carrying with it the faintest echo of something watching.
Waiting.