The world was a grayscale blur of asphalt and pine trees as we crossed the final county line. The dashboard clock glowed a cold 4:12 AM. I hadn’t slept in forty-eight hours, and my body was beginning to pay the debt. My shoulder throbbed where Vane’s claws had found purchase, the makeshift bandage Blake had slapped on me stiff with dried copper.
"You're drifting," Blake muttered, his voice a low rasp. He reached over and nudged the steering wheel as the SUV hummed toward the rumble strip.
"I'm fine," I lied. My eyes felt like they were full of sand.
"You’re a mess. You look like you went through a woodchipper and Alex is going to have a heart attack the second she sees you." Blake shifted in his seat, his own fatigue visible in the tight set of his jaw. "We’re an hour out. Try to pull i
