The world they saved did not thank them.
Anna had expected cheers, or at least silence heavy with awe. Instead, the air around the river settlement was tense, frayed—like a cord pulled too tight and left that way for generations. Smoke rose in pale columns from hearth fires. Mud clung to bare feet and hems. People watched from doorways and behind reed fences, eyes sharp with fear and calculation.
Fear had learned to survive here.
Lexus noticed it first. He always did.
“They’re already rewriting what happened,” he murmured as they walked along the riverbank. His voice was low, steady, but Anna heard the edge beneath it. “By morning, we’ll be the reason the floods came in the first place.”
Anna glanced at him. The river reflected a dull sky, brown and restless. “You think so?”
“I know
