The medical tent stank of bleach and old blankets. Maya sat stiff on a narrow metal bed, her hands locked on the sheets. Outside, everything felt like it was falling apart—the low rumble of the mountains had turned into a bone-deep roar. But inside, the quiet felt worse. It was that heavy, loaded silence right before a storm hits.
“Don’t touch me!” Maya snapped, yanking her arm away.
Julian froze, his hand hovering where hers had been. He looked stung, his dark eyes wide and searching. “Maya, I’m just trying to help. You’re shaking.”
“I’m not shaking,” Maya spat back. Her voice sounded wrong, even to herself. “I’m vibrating.”
She thrust her arm out. Under her pale skin, the veins burned with a wild purple light—it wasn’t just glowing anymore, it moved, a river of blue fire running alon
