The first three days were the hardest.
Not because of the terrain. Not because of the cold. Because Lumi couldn't sleep. She kept waking up in the middle of the night, crying, reaching for something no one could see. Her small hands would clutch at the air, fingers grasping at shadows, and her breath would come in short, sharp gasps that Sera couldn't comfort away.
"It's the other children," she whispered on the third night. Her voice was raw from crying. "I can feel them. Far away. Scared."
Sera held her daughter in the dark of the tent, rocking gently. Lumi's small body trembled against hers, damp with sweat despite the cold air seeping through the canvas. Outside, wind scraped against the trees like fingers begging for entry. The fire Dax had built had burned down to embers, casting
