Someone cursed softly, then a low exhale moved through the sentries. Whispers, not sharp this time—relief braided with something else. I felt, absurdly, like I’d just been let off a cliff with nothing but air beneath me.The warmth pooled back into me, leaving my hands tingling. The effort had taken something—not much, I thought, but enough to set the edges of my vision to shimmer. The baby fluttered, answering the pull. I laughed—a short, wild sound—and then the sound died in my throat when I realized what I’d risked.Mara reached out and steadied me by the elbow, her grip firm, professional. “You did good,” she said, low, and there was no wonder in it, only plain competence. “Get warm. Sit down. Jake will want to know.”The name hit me like a bell. Jake. I had disobeyed him. I’d done the thing he told me not to. My chest went tight with dread and, beneath it, something more complicated—an odd, fierce satisfaction that I had stepped across my own fear to keep someone alive.Footsteps
閱讀更多
