“I'm offering you a deal,” Lila said.
Her voice had steadied, though her hands were still shaking.
“Out there, a private dinner with me could cost someone a fortune. People line up for the chance to talk to me. They spend months trying to get close.”
Kai glanced at the fire.
“Out there isn't here.”
“I know.”
She swallowed.
“But here, I can stay with you. I can keep you company. You won't have to spend the night alone.”
Kai said nothing.
Lila moved closer, slowly enough that he could tell her to stop. Her expression had changed. The calculated smile she had used in front of cameras was gone, replaced by a mixture of fear, resolve, and calculation.
“You don't have to believe anything I say about the future,” she told him. “Just let me stay tonight.”
His golden system flickered into view.
[Target: Lila Hart.]
[Condition: Severe dehydration, hunger, and exposure.]
[Behavioral assessment: Attempting to secure long-term survival by offering personal companionship. High likelihood of renegotiating the arrangement if circumstances change.]
Kai read the last line twice.
The system wasn't telling him to trust her.
It was warning him not to confuse her desperation with loyalty.
He could live with that.
“You understand something, don't you?” he asked.
Lila waited.
“I don't owe you anything because you're famous. You don't get special treatment because people recognize your face. If you stay here, you don't get to take my supplies or make decisions for me.”
“I understand.”
“And if you promise to help, I expect you to follow through.”
She nodded.
“I will.”
Kai looked at her for another moment, then moved aside, leaving space near the fire.
“Then stay warm. We'll discuss tomorrow when it's light.”
The relief on her face was immediate, though she tried to conceal it.
She sat beside him, holding her hands near the flames. At first she said nothing. Gradually, as the cold left her fingers, she began to speak in a low voice about the beach, the smoke, and the way the others had started to turn on one another.
She didn't mention the moments when Kael had shoved people aside to claim the best place beside the fire. She didn't need to.
Kai understood the pattern.
Fear had reduced the group to a collection of competing appetites. Kael wanted to preserve his authority. Elara wanted to believe she could still command the situation. Lila wanted a safe place. Each of them was adapting to the new world in a different way.
And each adaptation came with a cost.
As the night wore on, Lila leaned closer. Their conversation faded, replaced by the quiet crackle of wood and the wind passing over the cave mouth.
The firelight moved across the uneven stone walls.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Later, the cave settled into silence, its entrance veiled by vines.
Sora had been sitting in the shadows near the back wall.
She had seen Lila climb into the cave. She had heard the pleading voice, the promises, and the unmistakable shift in the atmosphere when Kai allowed the actress to stay.
She hadn't intended to listen.
But there was nowhere else to go, and the cave was small enough that every word carried.
When Kai finally looked in her direction, she quickly lowered her eyes.
“Sora,” he said.
She flinched.
“Come here.”
She obeyed, clutching the torn fabric around her shoulders.
Kai pointed toward the cave entrance.
“Wait outside for a while.”
She stared at him.
“Outside?”
“I need some privacy.”
“It's freezing out there.”
“I know.”
Her throat tightened.
“Kai, I helped you. I tried to stop Kael from taking your supplies. I nearly got hurt because of it.”
“I remember.”
“Then why are you sending me out?”
He looked at her, but the expression in his eyes was difficult to read.
“Because I said so.”
Sora's fingers tightened around the edge of her shirt.
She had spent the afternoon worrying that Elara and Kael would abandon Kai if the helicopter arrived. She had wanted to protect him from the consequences of standing up to his supervisor.
Now the helicopter was becoming less certain by the minute, and Kai was treating her as though her earlier kindness had never happened.
She glanced toward Lila, who sat close to him by the fire.
Sora understood the difference.
Lila had come offering something Kai wanted. Sora had come with warnings and concerns. One had made herself an attractive bargain. The other had expected a little consideration because they knew each other.
On this island, that distinction was beginning to matter.
“Kai,” she said quietly, “I can help with other things, too.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Such as?”
“I can gather wood. I can help prepare food. I'll do whatever you need.” She looked away, cheeks burning. “I just don't want to freeze outside.”
She had never spoken so plainly about herself before. The words seemed to hurt as soon as she said them.
Kai watched her for a moment.
Lila rose before he could answer.
“What exactly are you trying to do?” she asked.
Sora turned.
“Nothing. I just want to stay warm.”
“Then go find your own shelter.”
“I was here first.”
“And now I'm here.”
Lila stepped between Sora and the fire, her expression sharpening.
“Do you really think he needs you? Look at yourself. You have nothing to offer except another mouth to feed.”
Sora's face went pale.
“That's not fair.”
“Fair?” Lila laughed without humor. “You still think this place runs on fairness?”
She pointed toward the entrance.
“Go on. There's plenty of beach outside. You can sit down there and wait for your precious helicopter.”
Sora looked at Kai, hoping he would intervene.
He remained silent.
And that silence answered her.
She drew her shoulders inward and turned toward the dark entrance.
“Fine,” she whispered. “I'll get more wood.”
Kai didn't stop her.
Sora disappeared through the hanging vines, carrying the small spear he had made for her earlier.
The sound of the wind rushed into the space she left behind.
Lila returned to the fire, her anger giving way to a satisfied smile.
“Some people simply don't understand when they've lost.”
Kai glanced toward the entrance.
For a fraction of a second, he seemed about to say something.
Then he looked away.
In the world he had known before the disaster, Sora had been one of the few people who treated him decently. On the island, that history was becoming harder to separate from everything else.
He told himself she would be all right.
After all, she had the spear.
And he had problems of his own.