Caitlyn's POV

The blood moon hung low in the sky, casting everything beneath it in a sickly red light. The stars were hidden, swallowed up by the crimson haze, and the usual sounds of the forest were eerily absent. No birds, no rustling in the trees. Only the quiet—heavy, suffocating, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

I walked alone, my footsteps soft against the earth, but I wasn’t truly alone. Raymond was beside me, his presence a constant warmth that I didn’t want to lose. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask where I was going. He didn’t need to. He knew what this was. It wasn’t just my...