Mark’s POV

Rissa didn’t say much on the drive back.

She sat in the passenger seat, arms folded tightly, gaze fixed on the dark stretch of road ahead. The silence wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy. Like the kind of quiet that only comes after something breaks between two people and neither one is sure if they’re holding the pieces or letting them fall.

I didn’t push her.

She came back with me. That was enough for now.

The Hollow End disappeared behind us, swallowed by the night. A ...