
Your denial struck the snow cliff and returned as an echo through the empty gorge. It is a lie that solitude means I must turn back; speaking aloud is how I keep silence from swallowing judgment. You step into this one-chapter preview with Abel Wray at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. The strangers exchanged a glance before the unknown camp swallowed the reflected light. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
Read To Win or to Die