The haze never truly left the high woods—not up here, where the thick pines suffocated the sky and damp air clung to wool like ice water. By the time the pack cleared the final incline, silence settled over the team, heavy enough to weigh down every breath.
Rhea stepped past the tree line first, frozen leaves giving way under her boots. Days had passed, but her skin remembered this ground. This was where the ambush broke their line, where the mark Eli carved into the trunk had burned its shape straight into her head.
The altar stone stood in the center, dark moss creeping up its sides, split right down the center like an old wound that never closed.
Lucci moved up, his shoulder catching hers as he scanned the timber. "We check the edges again," he said, his voice level. "Slowly. Somethi
