Selena's POV
The morning came gray and still. Fog clung to the trees like a ghost refusing to leave. I woke on the old couch in the corner of the cabin, my back aching and my mind already spinning. Magnus had left without another word, and I hadn’t slept well since. I didn’t trust him. But I needed him. That was the difference between being desperate and being foolish.
I pulled on my coat and stepped outside, the cold air biting my face. The forest was quiet. Too quiet. My breath came in short puffs, and I listened for any sign of life. Nothing. No birds. No wind. It felt like the world was holding its breath, waiting.
Inside, I started a small fire and boiled water in an old kettle I found buried in a cupboard. The cabin had been abandoned for years, but it still held traces of a life
