CARMEN
The drive to the Carver Cat colony territory felt surreal. I hadn’t been here before, but I heard lots about it.
The sky had only just begun to lighten faintly along the horizon, the dark blue of night slowly giving way to pale gray dawn. Morning dew clung low across the winding roads as Tim’s truck rumbled through the forested backroads toward the colony.
I sat silently in the passenger seat, clutching the feather tightly in my lap.
The warmth inside my chest still hadn’t faded. If anything, it had grown stronger the closer we got to the colony.
Tim kept glancing at me every few minutes, concern etched deeply into his features.
“You okay?” he asked quietly after several miles of silence.
“No,” I admitted honestly.
His hand reached across the bench seat, squeezing my thigh r
