Chapter 110 Held Hostage

• Axel’s POV
• I hadn’t slept. Not properly. The grave where we’d buried Willow loomed in my mind all night like an unspoken challenge. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined her struggling beneath the earth, reaching out, needing us, and we weren’t there. The hours dragged by, and even the soothing light of the moon did little to quell the storm inside me.
• The others didn’t seem much better. Aiden stayed awake sharpening his knife, over and over, his face an unreadable mask. Kingston sat with his back against the oak tree, pretending to be calm, but his eyes betrayed him, they flicked toward the burial site every few minutes. And Lina? She hovered like a shadow at the edge of the clearing, muttering under her breath as if running through a list of problems I wasn’t privy to.