Max’s POV

The campfire crackled behind me as the night deepened, but my attention was fixed on the two figures slipping away from the group. Mia. And right behind her, Lily. Mia was saying something about a lost pendant, her voice carrying just enough fake worry to sound convincing. Lily, naive as ever, followed without hesitation. I narrowed my eyes. Something about the way Mia moved too purposeful, too calculated set off alarms in my head. I wasn’t planning to get involved tonight, but curiosity won. I slipped quietly into the bushes after them, keeping enough distance so they wouldn’t notice.

They went a little deeper into the woods, the...