The cave was suffocating, a tomb of shadows and secrets. Ava's breath came in shallow, uneven gasps as she struggled to keep her emotions under control. The betrayer stood before her, his presence a living wound that throbbed with every beat of her heart. The tension between them was electric, a storm waiting to break.
"You're making a mistake, Ava," he said, his voice low, almost tender—a stark contrast to the knife-edge of their situation. His words were like poison, sweet and lethal, curling into her mind and seeking purchase. She wanted to reject them, to dismiss him, but the fear, the desperate need to escape the clutches of their enemies, stayed her hand.
"I've made too many mistakes already," Ava replied, her voice cold as the stone walls around them. She didn't flinch under his gaze, though her heart hammered in her chest, a relentless drumbeat of uncertainty. "And I'm not about to make another by trusting you."
