We shouldn’t have found food that easily.

That was my first, uneasy thought as we stumbled upon the small grove.

My second thought?

I didn’t care.

Hunger had gnawed at my insides for too long, turning every rational warning into a distant, irrelevant whisper. Survival had a way of simplifying things.

We hadn’t gone deep into the forest. At least, not intentionally. The group kept repeating the same cautious mantra.... "don’t go too far," "don’t trigger anything," "don’t be reckless" ....even as our feet carried us forward step by careful step. We were all lying to ourselves, pretending we were exercising restraint while hunger pushed us just far enough to justify the risk.

Because hunger doesn’t negotiate. It doesn’t respect boundaries or fear invisible dangers. It simply demands.

We found the fruits clustered near a group of low, twisted trees with silvery bark that seemed to shimmer faintly even in the dim, filtered light.

Too neat.

Too convenient.

Too perfectly placed.

That should have been my first real warning sign, but desperation dulls the senses. The fruits hung low on the branches, bright-colored orbs, some deep crimson, others a vibrant gold, smooth-skinned and glistening. Several had already fallen, splitting open on the mossy ground, their juicy interiors exposed and releasing a heady, almost intoxicating aroma that mingled with the damp earth and distant decay of the forest.

The scent was sticky-sweet, cloying, and strangely inviting, like nature itself was offering a temptation we were too weak to refuse.

"Looks safe," Theo said, crouching low to examine one that had fallen. His voice carried the forced confidence of someone trying to convince both himself and the rest of us.

That was the exact moment I realized none of us truly knew what we were doing. We were guessing. Hoping. Playing a deadly game of chance in a world that didn’t forgive mistakes.

Kaden picked one up first, turning the fruit slowly in his hands as if inspecting it for hidden teeth or poison. "If we die from fruit..." he muttered darkly, "I swear I’ll come back just to haunt every single one of you."

"You’re already annoying alive," Lyra replied quietly, though a faint, tired smile tugged at her lips. "Don’t make it worse in death."

I didn’t laugh, but I wanted to. The small exchange cut through the heavy tension like a brief, welcome breath of fresh air. In a place like Morvalis, even dark humor felt like a lifeline.

Elion plucked one of the golden fruits and held it out to me with that easy, disarming smile of his. "Try it."

Of course he would say that. Casual. Confident. Like we weren’t deep in a predatory forest. Like this wasn’t potentially a terrible, fatal idea.

I hesitated.

Just for a second.

My instincts screamed caution, but my empty stomach growled louder. I took the fruit from his hand, its skin warm and velvety beneath my fingers, and brought it to my lips.

The first bite was overwhelming.

Sweet.

Too sweet.

The kind of intense, syrupy sweetness that didn’t feel entirely natural, like it had been crafted to seduce rather than nourish. Juice exploded across my tongue and immediately ran down my chin and fingers in warm, sticky rivulets. The texture was soft, almost creamy, with a faint underlying tang that lingered at the back of my throat.

Warm.

The fruit itself was strangely warm, as if it had been ripening under hidden sunlight rather than the muted canopy above us.

I frowned slightly but said nothing. Everyone else had already started eating, tearing into the fruits with quiet desperation. If it was poison, we were all committing to the same mistake together.

Thorne didn’t eat right away.

He watched.

Of course he did, always observing, always calculating, arms crossed as his sharp eyes scanned the grove, the fruits, and each of us in turn.

I ignored him, focusing instead on the simple pleasure of finally putting something in my stomach. For the first time since arriving in this nightmare, something almost felt normal.

Almost.

We didn’t linger long.

No one voiced the growing unease, but we all felt it, that quiet, creeping instinct that we had pushed our luck far enough for one day. The forest seemed to press in a little closer, the shadows lengthening with subtle menace.

We gathered what we could carry: armfuls of the vibrant fruits, a few heavy coconuts that Theo and Elion managed to knock down after considerable effort and colorful cursing. Then we turned back toward the clearing, moving faster on the return journey.

The walk back felt longer than it should have. Quieter. The usual sounds of the forest had dulled to an unnatural hush, as if Morvalis itself was watching us retreat with calculating eyes, deciding whether we had taken more than we should.

When we finally stepped back into the relative safety of the clearing, yhe so-called "safe zone" ...I released a long, shaky breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. The familiar crackle of the small fire, the trampled ground, the illusion of shelter among the trees... it all felt like coming home to something almost safe.

And then I saw him.

Ashriel.

Collapsed near the tree line, his massive frame slumped against the base of a tree, looking unnaturally still.

For one terrifying second, my heart lurched violently, too fast, too hard, clenching with something uncomfortably close to panic.

Then I saw the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest.

Sleeping.

Not dead. Just profoundly, utterly exhausted.

"Looks like he finally remembered he’s human," Kaden muttered under his breath.

"He’s not human," Theo corrected automatically, voice low.

"Even worse then," Kaden shot back.

No one moved to wake him.

No one checked on him.

Not even Thorne, who simply glanced in Ashriel’s direction before looking away.

That should have annoyed me, should have stirred up some righteous anger on his behalf, but it didn’t. Because I didn’t move either. I stayed rooted in place, the memory of his cold words still fresh and stinging.

Theo stepped forward instead, placing a small pile of fruits carefully beside the sleeping warrior.

"In case he wakes up hungry," he said simply, with that quiet kindness that seemed to come so naturally to him.

I stared at the offering.

Then at Ashriel’s peaceful, exhausted face.

Then back at the fruit.

I could do the same. It wouldn’t mean anything. Just practical courtesy. Just food left for a companion in a place where survival was shared.

But the memory slammed back into me immediately.

"Now I owe you nothing."

Right.

I clicked my tongue softly and looked away, swallowing the strange knot in my throat. He didn’t need anything from me. And I definitely didn’t need to prove anything to him.

Simple.

We settled down again around the fire, closer together this time, drawn by shared exhaustion and the fragile comfort of numbers. The mood was quieter. Heavier. Everyone worn down by the day’s chaos.

No one talked much. There was nothing left to say that wouldn’t reopen fresh wounds or stir up new fears.

One by one, they drifted off.

Theo first, ever the steady one, leaning back against a log with a soft sigh. Lyra followed soon after, curling into herself like a tired cat. Kaden pretended he wasn’t exhausted, fighting it longer than the rest before finally succumbing. Even Ivy eventually closed her eyes, though her posture remained subtly tense, as if she never truly relaxed.

Thorne stayed awake the longest, staring into the flames with that intense, unreadable expression. But eventually even he leaned back, eyes closing slowly, surrendering to fatigue.

Elion stayed beside me the entire time. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Still holding my hand.

His thumb traced lazy, absent circles against my skin.

At some point... I stopped noticing. The warmth became background. Comforting. Familiar.

And then....

Darkness claimed me.

I don’t know how long I slept.

Minutes. Hours. Time felt distorted and unreal in Morvalis, stretching and compressing without logic.

But I knew exactly when I woke up.

Because I heard that voice again.

Clear.... Soft and Intimate.

Right next to my ear, brushing against my skin like a lover’s whisper or a predator’s breath.

"Get up, Nyx."