Tyler’s POV
I wake before the camp does, and my side answers.
The injury has settled into something meaner overnight. Not the sharp lightning of yesterday. The kind that waits until you forget it’s there, then punishes you for the mistake.
I smell smoke soaked into everything, antiseptic herbs ground into paste, and my own blood underneath it all.
I sit up in inches.
Pain slides under my ribs like a hand closing.
I keep my face still. I keep my breath quiet. I refuse to give it sound.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bedding. My feet find the ground. Cold dirt. Uneven. Familiar enough to be dangerous. The moment my weight settles, my side pulls hard, and the pain deepens with it.
I stand anyway.
The tent tilts, just slightly. Not because I’m dizzy. Because my body tries to fol
