The world snapped back into place with a violence that rattled my bones.
Cold, dead air slammed into my lungs as Kael released me, boots hitting ground that felt wrong beneath my feet—too hard, too brittle, like the land itself was holding its breath. The sky above us was a sickly gray, clouds unmoving, as if even the wind had given up on this place.
I hated it instantly.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice sharper than I meant it to be as I turned in a slow circle.
Kael’s hand closed around mine at once, grounding, steady. His gaze swept the horizon, assessing threats before they even existed.
“Unclaimed territory,” he said.
“Or what’s left of it. No pack, no farmers. The land died years ago—soil poisoned by old magic. Nothing grows here. No one stays.”
That explained the silence.
