Samantha's POV
As we got to Royce's home, the air seemed thicker than normal and an uncomfortable quiet encircled us like a dense cloud. Every stride we made seemed weighted, as though the ground under us was just ready to break open and engulf us whole. Alex walked next to me, his face covered in a mask of quiet will, but I knew him too well. His jaw was clearly tense, and his hand hung just a bit too near to his firearm.
This was not any one goal. Everything we had been battling came together here, and I could feel it weighing down both of us. Royce's words still resonate in my head: Samantha, see me. You are not ready for what is ahead.
Though we were too deep in now to turn back, he knew we were coming.
Lila was several paces ahead, her eyes darting from side to side as though she
