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He tilts his head with skepticism flashing in his pale blue eyes. “You’re not.”

Before I can respond, Mars drops onto the ground beside me with a huff and tosses something soft against my chest. I fumble to catch it, then look down at the chocolate bar in my hands.

“We found a small treasure,” Mars says with a grin. “Don’t worry. I made sure it’s the least disgusting one.”

“Sounds delicious. I’m sold already,” I say.

Caspian raises an eyebrow at Mars. “You mean the one that’s least expired.”

“Exactly.” Mars puffs out his chest with pride.

The smile that tugs at my lips is reluctant, but I can’t resist being touched by their thoughtfulness. I brush dust off the wrapper and feel a warmth settle in my chest that has nothing to do with the fire.

We trade updates on our searches. Real updates, more than mere grunts and shrugs about our failures.

Caspian and Mars found an abandoned gas station that was stripped of anything useful except for a few melted candy bars and a rotter they had to put down. When it’s my turn, I share what happened at the train station.

“The sign didn’t match the symbol on the fabric, but while we were searching, someone with a gun found us instead,” I begin.

The mood changes in an instant. Mars’s playful grin fades, and Caspian’s eyes darken. Jace’s jaw clenches and he looks at me like he’s waiting for me to mention his fire trigger, but I won’t betray him like that.

“And you let Mars ramble on about nonsense?” Caspian asks.

Mars cuts in. “Melted chocolate isn’t nonsense. Now, purple, how do I find this guy?”

“Unfortunately for him, Jace took care of him,” I add, with a small smile in Jace’s direction. “There’s nothing left for anyone to find.”

Surprise and relief flicker across Jace’s face and his shoulders relax a little.

“Then the place got overrun with rotters, so I rigged a small explosion to clear our escape route.” I try to keep it casual, but I catch the way their eyebrows shoot up.

Mars lets out a low whistle of appreciation. “An explosion? Damn, purple.”

“Seems about right for you,” Caspian says.

“How many socks did you use for that one?” Mars asks with a grin, then glances down at Jace’s boots. “Wait, Jace still has his full sock collection.”

“Collection? You’re the only weirdo who has favorite socks,” Jace scoffs.

I laugh and shake my head. “No socks required this time. Only luck. Found an emergency flare, and some conveniently placed gas leaks.”

Caspian stares at me with something that looks like awe mixed with concern. “You created an explosion to escape rotters, and you’re only mentioning this now?”

“Why are you more surprised about the explosion than the sniper? Purple, next time you’re going first when wehave storytelling. Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” Mars asks, feigning hurt.

Jace shrugs. “Must’ve forgotten.”

The casual way he says it almost makes me snort with laughter, and even Caspian cracks a small smile with a shake of his head.

Mars stretches his legs out and nudges mine with his boot, making me laugh more when I see it’s the one with the missing sock he cares so much about. “So. Sniper, train station, explosion, and a guy getting his face eaten off. Sounds like a solid day.”

“Oh yes. Classic apocalypse,” I deadpan.

Caspian’s smile fades and he frowns at Mars. “He had a gun pointed at her head.”

That sobers Mars in an instant, and Jace’s hands clench into fists at the memory. I shift, fingers twisting in my lap. “He knew who I was. He said I got away and someone was looking for me…but I’m not sure if he meant me or my sister. We couldn’t get any answers once the rotter fell on him.”

Caspian tilts his head to see me better. “He didn’t say who was looking for you?”