MIRA’S
POV
When I woke, it was to the sound of shallow breaths and the gentle crackle of fire.
The night wrapped itself around us like a cold, silent veil. Trees towered overhead like sentinels of shadow, their boughs whispering to each other secrets only the wind could understand. My body ached with exhaustion, but I forced myself to sit up. I had built the fire with shaking hands, using bits of bark and dry leaves I'd scrounged while Luca lay unconscious nearby.
Luca stirred beside me, the steady rhythm of his breath shifting as he woke. I had watched over him for hours, praying the fever wouldn’t come. We were lucky—or maybe the Moon Goddess hadn’t turned her face from us entirely.
"Mira?" he croaked.
I turned instantly. His voice was hoarse, the sound of gravel dragged through a
