Sera didn’t wait for the glossy woman to try and come up with a response.

She turned out of the leather store and headed down the main hall of the mall. The others fell into place without a word. Zubair was just a fraction of a step in front of her, Elias, a step behind, Alexei pace with her on her left, and Lachlan stayed close enough on her right to keep her from trouble.

Or to keep trouble from her.

Luci kept close to Sera’s knee, his head level with her ribs.

"You only get two stores," the glossy woman called again. "You have entered one, and your purchases have been recorded." She waved her hand to the shy woman with the binder that was frantically writing something down.

"That leaves you with only one store left. Choose wisely, it is a matter of life and death. If you want some advice, don’t hesitate to ask. I am more than happy to help you. After all, you wouldn’t want to be the one responsible for killing the men at your side."

Sera blinked as she tried to figure out what the glossy woman was doing. Her people had fanned out to watch Sera’s, and if they were trying to look casual, they failed at it.

The quiet girl with the binder stayed near the wall and tracked Sera’s hands.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sera stopped at a corner kiosk, glanced at it once, and kept moving.

The next storefront had the faded sign of a chocolate boutique. The gate was down but broken on one side. She slid a gloved hand through, found the catch, and lifted.

The creature inside of her purred in happiness.

Metal rattled.

Dust fell.

The opening was just wide enough.

Zubair stepped in first and Sera knew enough to wait for him to call out that everything was clear before going in.

The air held that smell of melted chocolate that never faded away.

Most of the shelves were empty, and what had remained had melted and then fused back together in bricks. Wrappers clung to the racks, and a glass case near the register still had a few rows of truffles in paper cups, misshapen but still pretty much intact.

Lachlan whistled under his breath. "Talk about relics of the past."

"Don’t eat anything old enough to vote," Elias muttered. He picked up a box, checked the back, snorted, and set it down again.

Sera, on the other hand, didn’t ask permission. She popped the case, trying to get what was inside of it. The seal stuck for a few minutes before it gave under her unrelenting desire for the sweet treats.

She lifted out a truffle, bit in, and closed her eyes for a second. Her shoulders loosened and even the creature inside of her seemed to have relaxed.

The second bite killed the rest.

"Share," Lachlan tried, hand out.

"No," she said. Calm. No room for debate.

He grinned, holding up his hands and shrugging his shoulders. "I figured. But you can’t blame a guy for trying."

The glossy woman arrived in the doorway with two of her men. She leaned on the jamb and put on that smile again. "I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you would pick something so impractical as chocolate. You had a whole mall, and you chose leather clothes that you will cook in in this Southern heat, and chocolate that is way past expiration. But either way, you’ll want to save that. It might just be your last meal."

Sera picked another truffle and ate it. "No. I don’t think I will. I don’t plan on denying myself what I want. The world ended. Life is shorter. I’ll eat the damn chocolate."

Lachlan looked delighted. Elias pretended not to. Alexei’s mouth twitched. Zubair didn’t react, but he shifted a half step to set his body between Sera and the bat man.

"Two stores," the glossy woman said for what seemed to be the hundredth time. "You’ve had your fun. Now it’s time to settle your account."

Sera ignored her and walked the wall. She tried to open a drawer, but it had stuck.

Alexei stepped up and pulled it open with two fingers. Inside was nothing more than crushed foils, a box of cocoa, and three wrapped bars wedged in the back where a hand hadn’t been able to reach.

Sera took the bars and slipped them into her jacket. "These are mine."

"Of course they are," Lachlan said, amused.

The glossy woman studied every move, then pointed at a crumpled display. "We had a count here. You’re cutting into reserves."

"Then you counted wrong," Sera said, not looking at her.

Zubair moved through the back door and checked the service hall. He returned and placed himself at that threshold. Elias drifted toward the register, opened a drawer, and found nothing but bent coins and a dead gift card.

He left both where they were.

Luci paced once, his nose low to the ground, then settled near the doorway. The dire wolf didn’t growl. He didn’t need to. The man with the bat swallowed and stepped back on his own.

The glossy woman tried again. "You think you’re above rationing?"

Sera turned to her. "No. I ration what I don’t care about. I care about this." She lifted another truffle and ate it. "You should find something you care about and stop guarding shelves with nothing on them."

That piece of advice seemed to have landed.

The man with the bat looked at the empty racks and frowned like the emptiness was new. The man with the pipe kept his eyes on Zubair and pretended he wasn’t doing it.

Lachlan leaned against the counter. "You keep saying ’rules’ like it makes you taller," he told the glossy woman. "It doesn’t."

She cut him a look. "Some of us built a system here. The General notices who plays along."

"Great," he said. "Ask him to send you a gold star for all your hard work."

Alexei opened the swing-gate to the back room. Zubair held there and lifted his chin once at Sera.

All clear.

Sera slipped through with Elias on her flank. The room was small, stacked with plastic bins and dead coolers. Most bins were empty. Two on the bottom were full. Handwritten tape: "Holiday" and "Special Order."

She crouched down and tried to open the lids, only to find them stuck.

Elias braced a palm and helped pop the first. Inside was the mother load: sealed bars, the chocolate still good, and the labels clean.

The other bin held wrapped truffles in vacuum bags, each with a date six months before the fall.

Elias exhaled. "These kept."

Sera’s eyes went bright. "All of it kept."

Zubair planted in the doorway, broad, quiet, unmovable. Alexei stepped sideways and pretended to study a water stain. Lachlan wandered back to the front and drew the glossy group’s attention on purpose.

"Hey," he told the bat man, loud enough. "How’s that inventory of air working out?"

The bat lifted the bat, but Zubair didn’t bother to look at him. He just adjusted his stance just slightly and the bat lowered again.

In the back, Sera tapped the rim of the bin with a knuckle.

The bin and contents vanished into her space as if it never existed in the real world to begin with.

She did the same to the second. She moved along the shelf, her palm light over each intact package, and took every last thing that could be eaten without breaking a tooth.

Even then, there was a chocolate and peanut butter bar that she was willing to risk a trip to the dentist to eat.

Elias didn’t comment. He stood slightly in front of her and blocked the sight line to the door with his shoulder. His body read casual. His eyes were not.

Sera finished fast and stood. "Done."

"Enough?" Elias asked.

"No. But I’ll stop here," she said. "I don’t want them to notice too soon." The words had a smile in them that made the room feel warmer.

They walked back to the front.

The glossy woman tried to peer past them, but Zubair shifted three inches and filled the doorway again without touching her. She had to lean to keep sight of Sera. She didn’t get enough to satisfy herself.

"You find anything?" she asked, sugary again. "You know that I am always willing to help."

"There was almost nothing back there," Sera said, deadpan. "And I really don’t want or need your help.

Lachlan bit the inside of his cheek to stay quiet. He failed and smiled anyway.

The quiet girl with the binder stared at Sera’s jacket like she could see the weight in it. She lifted her hand half an inch, thought better of it, and let it fall.

Sera closed the truffle case, snapped the latch, and stepped out to the hall. "Next."

The glossy woman slotted herself into the path. "Two stores," she said for the fourth time. "You’re at your limit."

Sera looked at her patiently. "No, I’m really not."