Chapter 111. Back in One Peace

Alison’s POV

The tires crunched against the gravel as we drove out of the Valley of Skulls, the dark landscape shrinking into the rearview mirror. The silence between Simone and me was heavy, like the weight of an unspoken confession. My fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary, knuckles turning white.

I exhaled sharply, breaking the quiet. “I can’t get her words out of my head.”

Simone shifted in her seat, her brows knitting together. “Mother Eliza?” she asked, her voice soft yet wary, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “She said you’d know where to find the white sage. That’s supposed to be the first step. But how the hell are we supposed to find something we haven’t seen before?”

Simone frowned, staring out the window like the answer might be written in the endless stretch of trees. “I’ve read about the white sage,” she said after a pause, her voice tinged with doubt. “But it hasn’t existed