Lina's POV

The fire crackled low in the hearth, casting flickering shadows on the walls of the living room. Everyone had gone to bed hours ago, but sleep was the last thing on my mind. My hands clenched the edges of the blanket draped over me, the voices of doubt from earlier replaying in my head.

“Half-baked plans,” Axel had said.

“Do you even know what you’re doing, Lina?” Asher’s voice, though softer, was just as sharp.

It wasn’t the first time they had questioned my ...