Jace POV

I watch as Elias speaks to the hooded figure.

For some reason, my heart is racing.

I can’t seem to calm down.

I kick a random stone at my feet, trying to shake the weird adrenaline still surging through me.

They walk toward me, Elias leading the way, the figure in the black puffer jacket walking behind him with the same casual confidence.

“Avery, this is Jace Mercer, the commander and leader of the faction,” Elias says, gesturing to me.

“Jace, this is Avery Cole,” he adds.

They drop the hoodie.

And it takes me a second to process.

She's a woman.

And she is pretty.

Like—really pretty. Actually beautiful.

Elias had always spoken of this mysterious friend using gender-neutral terms, probably on purpose.

Her brown eyes are soft but sharp, like she sees through things, through people. There’s a small mole under her right eye. It makes me want to reach out and—I don’t know. Touch it?

What a strange thought.

Her honey-brown hair is tied in a messy ponytail, some strands falling loose to frame her face. Wind tosses a few across her cheek.

She crosses her arms.

“Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding. I wasn’t aware Eli was coming with company,” she says, tone clipped but calm.

“I told you, you were probably just absent-minded again—” Elias starts.

“Fine, I was. I thought it was going to be just us again and—” She pauses.

Looks at me.

Doesn’t finish the sentence.

But I understand the implication.

I also don’t understand why it pisses me off.

Elias sighs loudly. “Let’s sit and talk about this, okay?”

The three of us settle in what I assume is Avery’s hideout. It’s a cozy space, surprisingly neat. There’s an old wooden table with scattered metal trinkets, a stack of handwoven blankets in one corner, some candles flickering in mana-powered jars.

I take a seat on a low stool. Avery sits across from me, eyes cool. Elias grabs an overturned crate and drops onto it with the kind of familiarity that says he’s been here many times.

She smells like mint soap and something sharp underneath—gun oil, maybe. She’s also clean, like she actually cares about hygiene in this apocalypse.

I try not to focus on it.

I try not to keep looking at her.

She looks at me like she wants me to disappear.

Probably because I interrupted whatever retreat she had planned with Elias.

Not that it should bother me.

But it does.

“Avery,” Elias says, setting his arms on the table. 

“You said you found a piece of land immune to mana storms. And on the call, I did request to arrive with my faction. You agreed.”

Avery sighs. “You know I’m not a people person. I don’t know how you expect me to accommodate hundreds of people.”

“It’s actually almost four thousand now,” I add.

Elias sends me a glare like I just stepped on a landmine.

Avery blinks.

“Yeah, nope that's a whole town, not village,” she says flatly, standing.

“Avery. Sit down,” Elias says, not unkindly.

She hesitates. Just a beat.

Then sits.

Elias leans forward. “We’ve dragged people across hell for months. Women. Children. Elderly. All of them holding onto this hope of stability. Of a place where we won’t have to run every other week.”

“You’re trying to appeal to my sympathy?” Avery asks, raising a brow.

“Yeah. I knew that wasn’t going to work,” Elias admits, chuckling.

He sobers. “But this isn’t just about us. It’s about what comes next. You can’t keep this place a secret forever. Eventually other factions, rogue groups, scavengers—they’ll find it.

You can fight them off once. Twice. Maybe three times. But it won’t stop.”

Avery looks away. Her jaw clenches.

“We can help you protect it. Shield it. Share it. You’ll have your space. No one will bother you. Take my word for it.”

He reaches out and takes her hand.

I notice it.

She pulls back.

“This guy,” Elias nods to me, “may look like an uptight military command bot, but he’s one of the strongest awakeners out there. We have over a thousand ability users. Trained. Coordinated. The faction is still growing.”

He turns to me.

“Right?”

There’s a warning in his tone.

I nod. “Right.”

A pause.

Avery studies us.

Then finally says, “Give me some time.”

We don’t press her.

We leave the room.

*

Outside, the air smells like wet soil and iron. The petals from the giant tree still drift slowly, catching on rubble and broken glass. I walk a few paces behind Elias as we head back toward the forward camp. He doesn’t say anything.

Neither do I.

Because I can still feel her eyes on me.

And worse, I still feel the sting of that look she gave me. Like I was a stranger. Like I meant nothing.

And I have no idea why that cuts so deep.

Like I lost something I never had.