AUTHOR’S POV

Aria cried until her chest hurt and her throat burned. She stayed there, kneeling by her mother’s grave, her fingers pressed into the cold earth as if holding on could bring her back. She did not know when sleep took her.

It was the sharp chorus of crickets that startled her awake.

Her eyes flew open.

Darkness had settled fully, the air colder than before. Panic rushed through her veins.

“Damn it,” she whispered as she scrambled to her feet.

She brushed dirt and dry ...