The crypt door groaned as it shut behind them, its echo swallowed by the heavy hush of the field beyond. The ground squished beneath Danielle’s boots — not quite mud, but damp enough to remind her she was standing on ancient soil where life and death had long since shaken hands.
Nobody spoke at first.
The sun had climbed higher while they were underground. Its warmth felt wrong on her skin, too gentle for the weight that clung to her chest. She wrapped her arms around herself, not because she was cold — she wasn’t sure she’d ever be warm again — but because it felt like the only thing holding her together.
Connor fell into step beside her, quiet but steady. His presence was grounding in a way she hadn’t expected. Not pressing. Just there.
Behind them, the others trailed in thoughtful s
