Avery's POV

The morning showed through the thick cover of the canopy, like the sun itself feared to shine into this area of the woods.

 

I held tightly onto the map, brittle edges flaking off with every contact. Jameson strode a few steps ahead, his gaze roving over the ground with calculated precision.

 

“This map is useless unless we know where we are,” I muttered, piercing the tense silence between us.

 

Jameson didn’t look back, but his shoulders went stiff. “Then why are you clinging to it so much?” His tone was terse, and his patience was clearly fraying.

 

I seethed behind the back of his head, fighting the impulse...