Naomi’s Pov

The first thing I noticed was how quiet it got.

Not peaceful, quiet. Not calm. The kind of quiet that feels wrong because it doesn’t last. Like something is holding its breath before it breaks.

We were still at the secondary location. Screens on. Lights low. No one talked unless it mattered. Cassian stood near the center table, hands braced on the edge, eyes fixed on a map that hadn’t changed in hours.

Rubio sat on the floor with his back against the wall, phone in hand, scrolling through feeds we weren’t supposed to have access to. Mara paced slowly, stopping every few steps to check a window...