Caleb.
The fire took longer to die than I expected.
Flames clung stubbornly to the old wood of the isolated building, devouring beam after beam as guards rushed back and forth with buckets of water. Smoke rolled thickly into the night sky, choking the air and stinging my eyes, but none of us stepped away.
Not me.
Not Cain.
Not the guards who could feel the weight of our presence behind every command they followed.
“Faster!” I barked hoarsely, my voice already raw from the smoke. “Put it out!”
Water splashed against the burning structure in frantic waves. Steam hissed as it met the heat, rising in clouds that blurred the courtyard.
Somewhere behind me, Cain stood motionless. I didn’t need to look to know his face had gone pale.
None of us were speaking about it yet.
But the though
