“All forests are alive,” Daemon replied, but his shadows were restless, reaching toward sounds that didn’t exist and movements that flickered just beyond sight.
“Not like this. This is…” I searched for the right word. “Aware. Conscious. Like it’s thinking.”
“Regardless, we have to keep moving. We need to head west. The others should be waiting for us by now.”
Daemon quickened his pace. I followed, letting him take the lead as we made our way toward Kael and the others.
A branch rustled overhead, though there was no wind to stir it. Somewhere in the distance, something that might have been laughter echoed through the trees.
We walked in relative silence after that, both of us listening for sounds that shouldn’t exist. The path curved and twisted, leading us deeper into the forest’s heart, and with each step the sense of otherworldliness grew stronger. Reality felt thinner here, more malleable. Like the right word or gesture might tear a hole in the fabric of what was and let in what could be.
Our unease, heightened by the magic saturating the forest, sharpened at the sudden rustling of leaves to our right. Daemon drew his twin daggers faster than I could turn my head. A split second of silence stretched into eternity. I lowered my stance and braced for whatever was coming.
To our relief, Kael stepped out of the treeline.
Daemon straightened slightly, tension easing from his shoulders, but only for a moment. Kane’s massive frame emerged behind Kael, Zephyr draped across his back. The entire team was bloodied and hobbling.
Their eyes were sharp with both alertness and exhaustion.
“Thank the gods,” Kael muttered.
“What happened?” Daemon’s gaze flicked from branch to branch, scanning for threats before settling on his injured companions.
“After we met up with Zephyr, we were engaged by a detachment. The King has hired mercenaries from the south, along with his hunters. We handled them well enough, but we were flanked by trackers and caught off guard. Zephyr was badly wounded, and Kane had to fight while shielding him. I took on both groups at once. We barely made it out alive.”
Looking closer, I saw dried blood coating nearly every limb as Kael spoke. Kane carefully lowered the unconscious Zephyr onto a patch of grass. His back bristled with arrowheads, the shafts snapped off jaggedly. Kane sank down beside him, breathing heavily.
Kael’s left hand trembled.
They were badly injured. If we didn’t get them treatment soon, they could die. Not to mention, Daemon had taken significant damage fighting the wolves, and I was still aching from months of torment and the sigils carved into my skin. The healer being unconscious was the worst-case scenario.
Daemon shifted from worry to action in an instant. He strode to Zephyr and lifted him over his shoulder before extending a hand to Kane. Kane clasped it and forced himself upright with a labored grunt.
“We have to keep moving,” Daemon said. “We need to find Vaelthorne.”
This was no longer just about the mission. The lives of Daemon’s chosen family were at stake.
Kael and Kane were starting to lag farther and farther behind us, though we weren’t moving at the same brisk pace as before.Zephyr’s breath and pulse were growing dangerously faint. We were running out of time.
By midday, I was sure we were being followed. Not by anything physical, Daemon’s shadows would have detected any living creature stalking us. But a presence moved through the trees parallel to our path, keeping pace without ever showing itself. Sometimes I caught glimpses of movement in my peripheral vision, but when I turned to look, there was nothing there.
“Do you feel that?” I asked during a brief rest beside a stream that flowed uphill.
Daemon’s eyes were already scanning the treeline, his hand resting on his dagger hilt. “Something’s tracking us. Has been for the past hour.”
“But not something dangerous.”
“How can you tell?”
“Because it feels…” I struggled to find the right words. “Familiar. Like it knows me.”
A shimmer of light appeared between two massive oaks, faint as moonbeams but unmistakably there. It curved away into the depths of the forest, leading in a direction that felt right in ways I couldn’t explain.
“The path,” I breathed.
Daemon followed my gaze and frowned. “I don’t see anything.”
“You’re not supposed to. It’s not meant for you.” I started toward the light, drawn by something deeper than curiosity. “This is the way to Vaelthorne.”
