Skylar

I step away from the remnants of the meeting, my boots pressing into the soft earth. The smell of rain lingers in the air, a reminder of nature's indifference to our supernatural affairs. Neo and Alaric's words echo in my mind, a mantra of support that stitches together the fraying edges of my resolve. I am not an island, but part of a continent, connected by the very forces that threaten to tear us apart.

"Thank you," I murmur again, allowing their presence to ground me. ...