Chapter 55: Dangerous Proposition
The early morning mist lingered in the valley as Alex and Ethan made their way toward Calista's quarters. The air was thick with an uneasy silence, broken only by the soft crunch of their boots on the rough, moss-covered ground. The very earth seemed to absorb their tension, amplifying it back in the tautness of the cool air. Ethan had been unusually quiet all morning, his mouth set in a grim line as if he were bracing for a blow he couldn't see coming.
She glanced at him, catching a flicker of unease in his eyes, though he masked it quickly. Alex knew him well enough to understand what he wasn't saying. This mission, this alliance with Calista's faction—it felt like walking a fine line on the edge of a knife, and Ethan, with every fiber of his being, was braced against the inevitable betrayal he sensed was coming.
