Rissa’s POV

The silence does not last.

It never does.

For one fragile moment, the world feels still. The street lies broken beneath us, dust settling slowly through the air, drifting like ash after a fire. My body sags against Mark, every muscle weak, every breath heavy.

I can feel his arms around me. Solid. Steady. Real.

Alive.

That should be enough.

It is not.

Because beneath the quiet, something lingers.

Not outside.

Inside me.

A slow pulse spreads from my chest outward, faint but ...