The morning after Lana's announcement, I woke up feeling like a different person.

Not better exactly. Just different like someone had peeled back a layer of my skin and exposed something raw underneath that I'd been hiding my whole life. Something that had been there all along, waiting for permission to exist.

Lana was already awake when I emerged from the tent we now shared, sitting by the fire with a cup of something that smelled like herbs and honey. She looked tired, dark circles under ...