The night seemed to stretch endlessly, thick with the weight of secrets and the faint smell of danger that clung to the wind.
Bianca's heels clicked against the dirt road as though marking her descent into desperation.
Her heart raced, her breath shallow, and the shadows pressed closer with each step.
She retraced the path she had taken when she first ventured toward Garam City, every rock and tree etched in her memory like cruel reminders.
It has to be here… maybe it fell, maybe the book is waiting for me.
Her fingers dug into the torn strap of her bag, but deep inside she knew the truth, if the black book had left her hands once, it had done so by its own will.
The great black book was not a trinket to be misplaced. It chose, it abandoned, it devoured.
But Still, denial was a sweeter poison than admitting defeat.
