Jace
The forest had never felt this quiet. Not in all my years running these lands under moonlight, not even during the hunts when every creature held its breath as predators stalked in silence.
This was different. This was the hush of something ancient, listening.
Cara walked beside me, hood drawn against the bite of dawn. Her steps were light, but I could feel her energy rolling off her like a second heartbeat. The fae spark inside her pulsed stronger the closer we came to the catacombs, threads of magic curling in the air like smoke. I didn’t need Maeve’s warnings to know that the land itself was aware of her.
Or that the wards ahead would be, too.
I adjusted the strap of my pack, forcing my shoulders to loosen. If I didn’t, my tension would bleed through the bond, and the last thi
