Chapter 51

Maren

The night air clung damp to my skin as I sat by the creek, hugging my knees to my chest. The water rippled in small, lazy currents, catching the moonlight and tossing it back in silver shards. I let myself get lost in it—the steady rhythm, the cool hush of it sliding past rocks. It always calmed me. Always.

Until now.

Because now my mother’s words rattled around in my head like loose bones i