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The air thickened, and she could barely swallow past the knot in her throat. The space between Takeshi and her expanded, stretching for miles.

She realized she didn’t quite like that.

Khalani walked forward, closing the distance.

Takeshi frowned, utterly still as the gap between them disappeared. His expression was cool. Guarded.

Khalani had always avoided physical affection. After her parents died, she stopped giving hugs or handshakes, preferring to linger in the dark, wondering why others freely offered their touch to strangers.

She was gradually getting used to Serene, Derek, Adan, and Winnie holding her, reassuring her that she wasn’t alone. But she rarely initiated contact herself.

Hugs were too intimate. Dangerous.

Sex made sense to her. It was an exchange of two bodies who just wanted to block out the world for a few moments. The faces didn’t matter. The person didn’t matter. Not when the heart wasn’t involved in those transactions.

But her heart didn’t feel numb anymore.

It beat a constant drum in her chest, and when she stared at Takeshi, her body wanted to communicate what her lips were unable to.

Without thinking, Khalani reached out and hugged him.

His entire body went rigid, arms staying tight by his side, like he didn’t know what to do. Like he was just as scared of holding her as she was.

But then she whispered, “Thanks for keeping me safe.”

Takeshi’s heartbeat hammered against her ear. And then, with the utmost caution, he slowly wrapped his arms aroundher.

Takeshi didn’t speak. But his words were everywhere.

In the way he enveloped her. In the tips of his fingers.

As if holding her close was his way of saying, “Thank you for trusting me.”

To anyone watching, that sliver of contact might have seemed meaningless. After all, a hug is just a hug.

But to her, it felt like a truce, however fleeting it may be.

She backed away, and he let her go.

Khalani turned to the others, afraid of what she might do next if that moment were allowed to continue.

“Ari said the Chief is expecting us at the log cabin.” Her mouth set in a hard line. “We should go see what she has to say.”

The others agreed, and when they left the house, Khalani was surprised Ferren and Jared weren’t posted outside their door.

But when she got her first look at the rest of the town, her knees locked.

The once quaint street was covered in destruction.

Several houses had burned down, arrows were littered across the ground, and trash was strewn everywhere.

Khalani’s fingers chafed together as they walked through the devastation.

The Merry Avenue sign lay in a ruined heap on the concrete, as though the joy in the Desert Spring had been destroyed as well.

Most people stayed inside their houses, if they were still standing. Others lingered at their open doors, gazes narrowing at Khalani and her group as they passed.

Before, the townspeople regarded them with tendrils of fear and disdain.