Chapter 73. Survival

It’s afternoon, the sun’s still high, but it’s doing very little to warm me through and lighten my dull mood, not that I care. We have a gift in that we’re not affected by the cold the way humans are, and we don’t need the same temperatures to survive. We can feel it, we can enjoy being warm and cozy, but we can sleep in freezing surroundings and not get sick. And if we do, we turn and, voila, healed. I’m not worried about getting ill or injured out here as long as I can muster enough energy to turn for a few seconds, but my mental state worries me.

I keep thinking about Luna Sierra and her broken mind, and I would be lying if I didn’t have a deep-rooted fear that I may not be strong enough to endure an oncoming war. It’s always there in the background of my mind. I can hide and avoid it as much as I want, but one day, I’ll find myself in the midst, and I won’t be able to escape it.

There’s a crack in the undergrowth behind me, and I spin around to focus my eyes on the d