The forest was silent.
Not the kind of quiet that came with morning—when the mist curled through the trees and the world stirred slow and drowsy.
No, this was a waiting silence. A heavy, deliberate stillness that pressed in from all sides.
Taryn moved carefully, her dagger balanced in her palm as she stepped over a tangle of roots. The air was thick, wrong. She didn't trust it. She could feel eyes on her.
Kah'el was ahead of her, his posture rigid, his twin blades drawn. His green eyes flicked toward the shadows between the trees, scanning. He felt it too.
Something wasn't right.
Lucien brought up the rear, moving slower than usual. He wasn't leaning against trees yet, but his steps weren't as steady as they should have been. His usual smirk was absent, his silver eyes darker than normal.
Kah'el suddenly crouched beside a set of tracks, his expression sharpening.