The armored truck bounced violently over the dirt track, throwing me against the cold metal side every few seconds. I kept my arms locked tight around Kai, his head resting heavy on my chest, my fingers pressed hard against the worst of his wounds like that could stop the bleeding by sheer stubbornness. The inside of the truck smelled like gunpowder, sweat, and that thick metallic tang of fresh blood. Every jolt made him groan quietly, and every groan felt like a knife twisting in my own gut.
Echo sat across from us in the dim red light, her face half-shadowed. Short dark hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, that jagged scar along her jaw looking even meaner up close. She hadn’t said much since we left the river. Just watched us with those cold, calculating eyes like she was still decid
