"You're loyal," Gabriel had said during the last session. "But even loyalty has a limit, Sterling."
Sterling's lip split again when he smiled at the memory. He forced a laugh, but it was just air rattling over swollen vocal cords. He'd stopped screaming hours ago. There was no point. The stone swallowed sound, just as it devoured hope.
He closed his eyes. For a moment, he imagined the scent of pine and wet earth. The Callahan grounds after the rain. The scent of Camille's hair when she leaned over maps late at night, tracing enemy lines with ink-stained fingers. Magnolia's steady voice cutting through fear like a knife through silk. Rhett's laugh, rare, but warm. Gods, how he'd give anything to hear it now.
A click of boots snapped him back.
