I stared across the camp at the others while they slept. Everyone looked so damn peaceful despite being trapped in a death garden by some plant-collecting psychopath. Their faces relaxed in sleep, bodies curled toward the spring like sunflowers following light. The water itself glowed faintly under the twin moons, casting everyone in a weird blue-silver sheen.
Even in this hellscape, they managed to look like they belonged in some fantasy painting. Meanwhile, I sat with my back against a tree that might try to eat me, wondering if this was all some cosmic joke played by an asshole god.
Raphael sat nearby, his amber eyes scanning the perimeter. Neither of us had spoken since taking first watch together. He kept flexing his hands, opening and closing his fists like he was itching to punch something.
I closed my eyes and tried again to reach Nel.
Hey, Nel. You there?
