The door didn’t move.
The sliver of light across the cabin floor cut through the darkness like a blade, and Daniel’s shadow stretched with it. He stood there in silence, unmoving, as though he wanted us to feel him before we saw him.
Adrian’s grip on my hand tightened until my knuckles ached. His body was still weak, but the set of his jaw was iron. “He’s trying to make us break,” he whispered.
My breath came shallow, my pulse a hammer against my ribs. The weight of the silence pressed in, thick and unbearable. I forced myself to stand, though my knees quivered. “We can’t just wait for him.”
Adrian shifted, his face pale with strain. “Emma—”
I shook my head. “No. If I let him see fear, if I let him think he’s already won, then he’ll crush us. I can’t… I won’t give him that.”
The door
