The fire had long since died, leaving only glowing embers in the cold morning air. The group stirred awake one by one, stretching sore limbs, rubbing exhaustion from their faces. But there was no peace. No relief.
Something had shifted between them.
It was an unspoken thing—thick as fog, pressing against their chests. The night had been restless, filled with hushed whispers in the dark, and now, as the first rays of dawn bled into the sky, there was an undeniable tension among them.
Lara could feel it most in Margot.
Margot sat apart from the group, arms crossed tightly, her eyes burning with something unreadable. The way she avoided looking at Elias spoke volumes. And the way Elias pretended not to notice spoke even more.
Lara clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palm. She wasn't the only one with questions. She wasn't the only one unraveling at the seams.
Roman and Caleb were quieter than usual, their gazes shifting between Lara, Elias, and Margot like they were waiting for something—an explosion, a confrontation, anything to break the silence.
Jack poked at the last embers of the fire with a stick, muttering under his breath.
It was Caleb who spoke first.
"So… are we just gonna pretend nothing's wrong?"
Silence.
Margot let out a humorless laugh, shaking her head. "Which part, Caleb? That we were all nearly slaughtered in a nightmare hospital? That our minds have been tampered with? Or that Elias should be dead, but somehow isn't?"
Elias's expression didn't change. He only took a slow breath, his green eyes flicking toward her. "You're upset, Margot."
"You think?" she snapped, her voice cutting through the air like a whip.
Lara swallowed, watching them carefully.
Margot's hands were trembling in her lap.
"I watched you die, Elias." Her voice cracked. "You—collapsed. You weren't breathing. You weren't moving."
Elias said nothing.
Margot's fingers curled into fists. "And then you wake up this morning completely fine, without a scratch, telling us it's because you 'longed for Lara'?" She let out a bitter laugh, her chest rising and falling. "You're lying."
The words hung in the air like a dagger between them.
"What happened to you, Elias?"
Elias's expression didn't waver. "I told you what you needed to know."
Margot exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "No, you told us what you wanted us to believe."
Jack let out a slow whistle, rubbing a hand down his face. "She's got a point, man. We've seen enough weird shit to know when someone's holding back."
Elias's gaze flickered to Lara. For the briefest second, there was something there—something unspoken.
Lara felt her stomach twist.
Because she knew they were right.
Because she knew Elias was lying.
But more than that…
He was hiding something from her, too.
"We don't have time for this," Roman cut in, his voice level but sharp. "We're wasting daylight. Whether or not Elias tells us the truth, we still have a city trying to kill us."
Margot let out a bitter laugh. "Oh yeah? And how do we know that he's not part of it?"
Elias flinched.
It was small. Barely noticeable. But Lara saw it.
And so did Margot.
Her breath caught, as if the realization had just struck her. She took a slow step forward, her eyes widening.
"Oh my god."
Elias's jaw tightened.
"That's it, isn't it?"
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and burnt wood.
Lara's heart pounded as she took an instinctive step toward Margot, feeling the energy shift between them like an approaching storm.
"Margot, stop."
But Margot didn't.
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You… you knew what was going to happen at Sujay, didn't you?"
Elias didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
Margot let out a choked laugh, running a hand through her disheveled hair. "All this time—I thought it was Lyn, or the Architect, or someone else pulling the strings. But it's been you too, hasn't it?"
"Margot—"
"How long, Elias?" she demanded, stepping closer. "How long have you been playing us?"
Elias's fingers twitched at his sides. "It's not what you think."
Margot's voice shook. "Then tell me what it is."
Silence.
Lara's breath caught. She looked to Elias, searching for something—anything—in his face that could prove Margot wrong. That could prove them all wrong.
But she found nothing.
And it terrified her.
Because for the first time since this nightmare began…
She wasn't sure if she was standing next to a friend or an enemy.
Margot turns to Lara, her eyes burning with realization.
"Tell me you don't see it too."
Lara opens her mouth—
But she doesn't know what to say.