Chapter 18: Mira’s Knife

Later, while Ash cooked strips of monster meat over a weak fire, he noticed a shadow slip closer.

A girl—short, wiry, with dirt-streaked cheeks and a knife that looked too heavy for her grip.

“Stay back,” she warned, voice shaking.

Ash didn’t flinch. He tore off a piece of meat and held it out.

“You hungry?”

The knife lowered an inch. Her eyes darted between him and the food.

“…What’s the catch?”

Ash smirked. “Only catch is if you stab me before you eat, I’ma bleed on you. Trust me, you don’t want that.”