The shimmer between the trees pulsed again, slow and deliberate, like a heartbeat counting down. My stomach twisted, but I didn’t move. Jax’s arms tightened around me, warmth anchoring me, though even that couldn’t erase the cold crawling up my spine. Something was awake. Something had noticed us.
I let my senses stretch outward, threads of magic brushing the air, skimming over the soil, probing the faint pulse beneath the ground. The shimmer wasn’t just light. It was energy. Ancient, patient, deliberate energy. The kind that could wait centuries to strike.
“Do you feel that?” I whispered.
Jax nodded, eyes scanning the treeline. “Yeah. Too well.”
Hazel’s voice broke through the tension. “It’s… subtle. Not shadows this time. Something… else. Something older.” She sounded uncertain, and
