= Mikael =
“These tracks,” she said at last, her voice slicing through the heavy quiet like a knife, crisp and deliberate, “they’re not meant to be followed to an end.”
Rovan shifted behind me. The scrape of his boot against stone was almost imperceptible—but I heard it anyway. Lorne did too. I could feel his body stiffen, every muscle coiling as instinct took over, his gaze snapping from me to Amara and down to the ground she scrutinized so closely.
The air changed. It wasn’t just tense—it was alive, alert, like we had crossed a threshold that had been invisible until she spoke. The forest seemed to recognize her presence, or maybe it was recognizing the weight of what she had just said.
I stayed silent, folding my arms over my chest, trying not to breathe too loudly, not to disturb t
