The fire had long since burned down to embers when Jude opened his eyes again. The others were asleep around the pit, curled in blankets and fur throws, a quiet tangle of limbs and slow breathing.
He didn't remember closing his eyes, and yet the last thing he recalled was watching them, watching their faces shift with the flickering light, seeing how unease still clung to them like damp air.
Now the air felt colder. He sat up and looked around the camp, squinting into the dark edges of the forest.
No movement. But something in him stirred, a faint thrum that vibrated not in the ground but in his chest.
