Sticking around isn’t free. I feel the cost before I can name it—before anybody says a damn thing, before the trees even bother whispering or the silver starts its little dance under my skin. It creeps in, quiet as a headache, like that weird off-balance feeling when you step somewhere that looks solid but tries to swallow your foot.Sun’s up, looking all warm and harmless over the packlands. Gold and green everywhere, dew catching on the leaves like a painting somebody actually tried on. From a distance? Looks like peace, textbook. But nah, peace doesn’t hum like this. It doesn’t hover over you, threadbare across your lungs, not asking if you’ll pay, just sizing up how much it’s gonna take.Caleb’s hand is still wrapped around mine on the balcony, solid and steady. That steadiness has become its own language. I lean into it more than I’ll ever admit out loud. Below us, wolves are doing their thing—patrols trading off, healers hauling baskets, kids zipping around like chaos incarnate,
Last Updated : 2026-02-16 Read more