This is something else entirely.
Something buried deeper.
Something even they didn’t expect.
I tighten my grip on the patch.
Then look back at Aspen.
She’s watching me.
Waiting.
Trusting.
And I realize—
This just got worse.
A lot worse.
Because whoever came after us?
They’re not just trying to protect a secret.
They are the secret.
And now?
Now we’re standing right in the middle of it.