Naomi’s Pov;

I sat on the cot, staring at the mark I’d carved into the wall days ago. The wolf’s head looked rougher now, the edges darkened from the soot that drifted through the vents. I traced it with my fingertip, whispering the same promise I said every night.

He’s coming.

The sound reached me then. Distant at first, something metallic, a muffled pop, then another. It was sharper, faster. Gunfire.

I froze, breath catching in my throat. The guard outside shouted. Boots pounded down the hall. Voices overlapped, curses, commands.

And then the lights went out.

The sudden darkness was absolute. I could hear my own heartbeat, the clink...