Orion's POV
My brain felt like it was wrapped in cotton. The silence of the woods pressed against my eardrums until I thought they might burst. My stomach churned violently, threatening to empty itself all over the forest floor. All I wanted was to run home to my parents and forget this nightmare had ever happened.
Uncle Herbert lay motionless before me, his skin already taking on that awful blue tinge that meant death had truly claimed him. The tiny girl's wails pierced through the trees, mixing with my own broken sobs in a symphony of grief.
"Uncle..." The word tore from my throat like shattered glass.
I couldn't stop the terrible thoughts from cycling through my head. Herbert was gone. Really gone. Shot down like some common animal, bleeding out on the cold earth, and it was all because of this baby. Because of Dalia.
