The Wish That Stayed
The silence did not feel like an ending. Bear waited for it to loosen, for the nightmare to admit it had been only a nightmare. Nothing answered. The broken charm lay where it had fallen, its little pieces harmless now—or too late to matter. Nikki’s presence pressed in from somewhere beyond his sight. He could not tell whether she was near or whether fear had made every pause sound like her next step. He wanted to call her name, then remembered what the charm had done to love. Whatever she felt now was not the wish he had meant to make; it had become something fierce and dangerous, and he had no way to take it back. Bear shut his eyes. When he opened them, the dread remained. He could wish for the nightmare to end. He could wish for anything. But wishing was no longer a way out.