I nodded subtly to Seraphina, my eyes narrowing as I surveyed the thickening fog. We needed to retreat, to find a way out before the darkness fully swallowed us whole. Without hesitation, I took her hand, guiding her carefully toward a narrow, hidden trail that zigzagged down the mountain’s less traversed side, an old backway known only to a few. The terrain was treacherous, jagged rocks and tangled underbrush threatening to trip us at every step, but urgency pressed us onward.
The fog clung to us like a living thing, muffling the sounds of the chaos behind us. The howls and roars faded into a distant hum, replaced by the oppressive silence of the mist, broken only by the faint scrape of our footsteps and the pounding of our own hearts. I kept my senses sharp, trying to anchor myself in h
