ummed throu

skin that made it impossible to relax. The symbols carved into the walls of the small structure glowe

someth

ep somet

ring at the door. Lyric had left hours ago, promising to retu

t words echoe

the dark.

ing slowly, deliberately. I wasn't gold. I

what I to

ibs. I gasped softly, clutching at my chest. The sensation wasn't pain, not exac

ht. Whatever

, leaving the roo

n't s

y it always was, clouds hanging low and unmoving. I stepped outside cau

did

found Kae

He looked like he hadn't slept either. There was a new tension in him.s

to talk,"

already were

like

ow, turning without waitin

to our right. The closer we got, the stronger that familiar

e line," Kael

t touch

You stayed. You saw what yo

lking. "Peop

es

d me to pretend

e me. "I expecte

raw, almost strained,

eds on awareness. Curiosity. Fear. Eve

n't it just ki

hesit

old me

said slowly. "Or becau

ed. "Because i

us. A branch creaked. Le

be locked away,

l replied. "You just d

pack sent scouts d

far enough back that no one noticed me, or maybe they no

during the day. Less thr

the wor

ns quickly.

ng else drag marks, long and uneven. Whatever had mo

ipped away, gouged by something sharp and delibera

ck mar

de

eath

en these

andmothe

la

thoughts. He was standing a fe

n't be here

replied. "They're not warn

a low, distant sound too

my arm. "We

't make

harged. The scouts froze, weapons rai

mething

a

nd hurling him into a trunk with bone crushing force. Shout

ed me bac

idn

oul

ot fully hidden. Tall. Wrong. Its eyes glinted in th

ted it

hing

e in my che

my veins. My vision blurred, the world warping at the e

" Kael

ly hea

inside me

The wards I didn't even know were there flared to

ing re

a s

at was

hat sent it vanishing into the trees. The f

nce

gripping my shoulder

h coming in ragged g

rt of

ck house, no o

wat

spe

sur

ood in my doorway,

just move," he sa

. "What doe

just hunting anymore," he

o

es

stomach-but beneath it,

so

leaving

e. "Then you need to

the fores

time, I knew it wa

s pre