Chapter 17
Sage’s old truck rattled over the cracked streets of Blackpine as we drove toward Tyler’s garage. The sun had climbed high into the late-morning sky, glinting off the faded storefronts and the chipped sidewalks I remembered from visits with Sage years ago. Everything felt both familiar and strangely small, a town frozen in time.
Alaric sat in the back seat, relaxed but alert, scanning shadows with that effortless, calculating gaze. Sage kept her hands steady on the wheel, glancing occasionally at me, while I sat quietly, trying to shake the nervous energy buzzing through my chest.
We pulled up to Tyler’s garage, the smell of oil and gasoline thick in the air. I could see him hunched over a truck under the shade of the garage roof, black grease streaking his arms and face. Whe
