Winter awoke with a start, the cold air of the settlement biting at his skin despite the thin blanket draped over him. His pulse thrummed beneath his ribs, and for a moment, the echoes of last night's events replayed in his mind—the checkpoint, the announcement, the feeling of something closing in around them. He exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face before pushing himself up.
"You ok?"
Across the room, Zara was already awake, sitting on a crate near the narrow window, her hands wrapped around a tin mug of weak coffee. She turned away from the window to stare at him gently.
The dim, early morning light cast sharp lines over her face, accentuating the tension in her jaw.
Winter ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, then stretched out his arms before pulling on his boots. Leo stirred nearby, mumbling in his sleep. Both of them glanced in his direction, a silent reminder that their risks had to be calculated.
