Just Believe!

  Chapter Sixteen – The Station Between Worlds Sleep never came. Not because Serakha was afraid. Commanders learned long ago that fear was simply another variable to calculate. No. She remained awake because, for the first time in centuries, uncertainty felt... exciting. The brass compass rested on the bedside table, where it emitted a soft golden pulse every few seconds. Each pulse illuminated the room just enough to reveal familiar objects—the bookshelf Emma had assembled with heroic determination and questionable engineering, the framed photograph of the two of them at a street festival, the mug that proudly declared World's Okayest Cook , a gift from Martin after Serakha had accidentally burned instant noodles. She still insisted the instructions had been unnecessarily vague. Emma insisted water was supposed to be added before the noodles. The debate remained unresolved. Outside, rain whispered against the windows. The city had fallen into the peaceful silence that exists only ...