Rowan sat in the chair beside the bed, his arms resting loosely on his knees. I turned my head on the pillow and caught his gaze.
“Have you been paying attention to the death roll?” My voice came out as a whisper, brittle and raw.
He didn’t answer at first. His jaw tightened, and he looked away—toward the door, toward the floor, anywhere but me.
“How many are left?” I pressed.
He hesitated. “Four.”
My stomach twisted. “Including me?”
His eyes flicked up to mine, and he gave the faintest nod.
The final four. I wanted to laugh, but it would’ve hurt too much. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to steady the quiver in my chest.
Rowan leaned forward and kissed my forehead. His lips were warm, but the words that followed were ice.
“You won’t have to fight much longer.”
The gentleness of his tone undid me.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t have the strength. Instead, I let the weight of exhaustion pull me under again, drifting back into half-sleep, half-silence, the kind that felt like floating between worlds.
Three soft raps on the door woke me.
I opened my half-crusted eyes to find the room dark, and Rowan gone. Shadows stretched long and unfamiliar along the walls. Only the flicker of light from beneath the hall door offered any anchor to reality.
I stirred only slightly, my body aching with even the smallest shift.
Another knock. Louder this time. Then a voice.
“Mavis.”
I knew that voice. It belonged to Thomas, one of the night sentries. But the way he said my name made the marrow in my bones go cold.
The door creaked open, letting wisps of light trickle in.
“Mavis.”
The voice was wrong now. Higher. Harsher. As if someone were pulling it from a torn throat.
The hair on the back of my neck lifted as my skin prickled.
Light footsteps padded closer until a figure stood at the foot of my bed, fingers locked on the frame. It was Thomas. His posture was rigid, trembling with some inner strain.
His face slackened. And then,that smile. Sharp. Too many teeth, which seemed to glow in the dim light.
His eyes went white.
No pupils. No iris. Just a blinding, moonlit void.
His smile spread wider across his face, almostinhuman.
I froze at the sight of it.
My breath caught in my chest. My hand fisted the blanket instinctively.
“W-what do you want?” I stammered.
