(Narrator: Elena)
The blizzard had saved us. For now.
A massive storm had rolled in right after Marcus’s warning, burying the mountain passes in ten feet of snow. Kael’s army couldn't reach us until the storm broke. Caleb estimated we had two, maybe three days.
We decided to spend them living. Not surviving. Just living.
The cabin, usually a fortress of tension, had transformed. The smell of fear and antiseptic was gone, replaced by the scent of roasting chicken, cinnamon, and pine wood burning in the hearth.
It was... peaceful.
The Shave (Marcus & Maya)
I walked past the bathroom and saw the door ajar. I stopped, smiling at the scene inside.
Marcus was sitting on a stool, a towel wrapped around his shoulders. He was still thin, his ribs showing, but his eyes were bright.
