Mateo's promise to protect her—even if it killed him—had revealed a protection that could become its own form of danger, and Maya couldn't escape the terrible weight of that knowledge.
The words replayed in her head like a warning she couldn't outrun, echoing through restless sleep and following her into the morning light that streamed through her dorm window. I'll protect you... even if it kills me. Each repetition made her chest tighten with a combination of gratitude and terror that threatened to choke her.
He knows. Maybe not everything, but enough to recognize that I'm in real danger.
Maya should have felt relief. Protection should have meant safety, the promise of someone watching her back in a world where enemies wore familiar faces and threats came from directions she couldn't predict. But all she felt was crushing pressure, the weight of another person's life suddenly depending on secrets she couldn't share.
