The police station smells like old coffee and disappointment. I sit in the stiff plastic chair while Grace fills out the missing‑person report, his handwriting tight and angry. Noah keeps a hand on my shoulder. Liam stands near the door like he’s guarding it. But none of it makes me feel better. Because Emily is gone. And it’s my fault.
Everyone keeps telling me it isn’t, but the whispers at school say otherwise.
Two kids close to Raven Carter have vanished.
First Drake. Now Emily.
What’s wrong with that girl?
They don’t say it to my face, but I hear them. I feel them. And the worst part? They’re not entirely wrong.
I can feel Emily through the bond, faint, scared, hurting. It’s like a thread tied around my ribs, tugging every time she breathes too fast or panics. I didn’t even kno
