Zara
I didn’t sleep.
The night dragged itself out in fragments—tossing, turning, staring at the ceiling as shadows shifted across the walls. By the time dawn began bleeding through the window, I gave up entirely and dressed, deciding to head to class long before anyone else. At least the silence of an empty classroom was better than the silence in my head.
I dropped my bag on the desk, slumped forward, and let my cheek rest against the cool wood. The exhaustion finally dragged me under, though it wasn’t peaceful—it never was.
This time, Kai appeared.
His body hung suspended from a tree, his hair swaying like a broken curtain in the wind. My throat closed as I reached for him, but my feet refused to move. The killer. I strained to see, my heart clawing at my ribs, and then—just for an
