The mansion was colder than usual that morning, the icy wind howling outside like a harbinger of doom. My breath clouded in front of me as I rummaged through my inventory, pulling out a bundle of medical supplies and a canteen of water. My hands trembled slightly—not from the cold, but from the weight of what I was about to ask Claire to do.
When I found her, she was in the corner of a disused room, sweat-soaked and breathless. The makeshift training dummy in front of her looked like it had gone twelve rounds with a hurricane, but she wasn't stopping. Not yet.
"Claire," I said softly, kneeling beside her.
Her head snapped up, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of defiance in her eyes—like she expected me to tell her to stop. But when she saw the supplies in my hands, her expression softened.
"You shouldn't be here," she murmured, her voice hoarse.