The moment I stepped out of Soren’s house, the air struck me like punishment.

Cold.

Sharp.

Unforgiving.

It sliced through my skin, through my clothes, through the thin layer of strength I had borrowed just long enough to run. My steps carried me forward automatically at first, fast and uneven, driven by nothing but instinct. But after a few meters, they slowed. Then faltered.

The adrenaline drained from my body all at once, leaving behind something raw and ugly, something heavy enough to ...